Why the smell of metal could shed a tear and other sensorial narratives

Sensory experiences build our worlds, yet in illustration as a practice and subject we often focus so much on the visual stimuli and materiality around us to inform our image-making. Why have we not focused on mediating our range of senses to form a supercharged version of our image-making tools? We live in a time and world that can often be an assault on the senses. But how are these informed and what purpose do they serve in education to help communicate ideas in illustration practices? How can senses be subverted to rejuvenate creative processes? How do senses inform our identity, our memories, nostalgia and in turn, our creative practices? This article is an attempt to explore these questions through examples in Jhinuk Sarkar’s research and practice as an educator and illustrator.