If You Can Smell It, It Has Mass

‘A deeper understanding of the sense of smell is important in order to be more conscious of the possibility it offers and its powerful capacity.’ – Sissel Tolaas


Vision is the primary and predominant form of perception and information transfer in our everyday lives. Since the beginning of Western culture scent has been relegated to a back seat behind sight and sound. Why do we continue to submit to the hegemony of an occularcentric paradigm? Can our perception of the world around us change and expand by introducing a more scent-dominated culture?


Science shows us humans are responsive to chemical signals like other members of the mammalian species. One clinical trial applied the emotional tears of women to the upper lip of men. These men experienced a decrease in testosterone levels without witnessing the act of crying. We can conclude that in our everyday lives we are constantly receiving information on an invisible and olfactory basis. Is it possible in the near future to mass-produce chemosignals to decrease aggression in humanity? By uncovering invisible infrastructures and undetectable aspects that surround us on a daily basis, we discover the potential of what already exists within ourselves.


Text and Image via RCA