Intimacies of Scent

The works Cheiro a dois (Scent for Two) and Cheiro a sós (Scent for one) stem from olfactory sculptural devices to explore ways of engaging with scent that involve bodily presence, intimacy, and the temporality of breathing.

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In "Scent for two", the device invites two people to face one another, sharing the same aroma in sync. The work explores the act of breathing as an intimate choreography, where scent becomes a bridge between bodies, emotions, and stories. Here, the experience emerges through encounter. It requires being together, drawing near, offering one's face to the olfactory listening of the other.

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In "Scent for one", the experience turns inward. Attention is drawn to one’s own body, one’s own tempo, and the memories evoked by the scent. The device is similar, but the relation is introspective. The more meditative aroma, with incense-like notes, suggests a state of retreat, contemplative, perhaps even ritualistic.

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Although they contain distinct scents, one more festive, the other more contemplative, both works place the act of smelling at the center of the experience, not as passive reception but as an active gesture of listening, encounter, and presence. They shift the focus from what is smelled to how it is smelled, and with whom. These are investigations into olfactory devices as mediators of relations between bodies, times, and worlds.

Cheiro a sós [scent for one] 2024

Glass, metal and the scent for introspection

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