Scented Scenographics and Olfactory Art: Making Sense of Scent in the Museum

Abstract

In this article, I look at the meaning of scent as art, as exhibited artefact, and as an experience-heightening scenographic agent to create a multisensory whole in the museum. I discuss olfactory art, perfume exhibitions, and scented scenographics using fragrance as communication tools and highlighting the sense of smell as a key factor in the sensory and bodily communication of scented events. In the exhibition Art of Scent 1889–2012 (New York 2013), perfume was exhibited as artwork, stylistically compared to art history. The exhibition Perfume (London 2017) visualized the fragrances in scented scenographies where the stories conveyed by the perfumes where conceptualized. Belle Haleine. The Scent of Art (Basel 2015) exhibited olfactory artworks, among them the smell of fear. This is compared to scented scenographics at play in contemporary visual art at the Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art (GIBCA) 2019. Scent as a bearer of meaning in the museum is fundamentally about communicating through multiple senses – and creating interesting exhibitions. It also conveys, however, new aspects of culture and transforms our understanding of the meaning of scent.