Abstract
Deep Smelling is a meditative, experiential, and process-based art practice. My research concentrates on olfaction and how our skill in smelling can be developed through art practice. The method is established upon my practical and theoretical research. I have developed a Deep Smelling method that is not about making or reproducing an object, but a method that gives the potential for itself to be remade or re-imagined, when activated by whomever is using it, in a way that best suits the moment they are using it in. I have derived the term Deep Smelling from renowned experimental composer Pauline Oliveros’ (1932 –2016), philosophy of Deep Listening. Oliveros used the term to describe her practice of listening and how she used this to form sonic meditations and musical scores.As a result of the Enlightenment hierarchy of the senses (Hsuan Hsu, 2020), investigating the role of all our senses and specifically the olfactory becomes increasingly pertinent as our daily experiences become progressively mediated by screens at high-speed, 24hrs a day. This creates an ever more occularcentric, distanced and disembodied emphasis on our perceptions. The current unquantifiability of the olfactory has contributed to making it of less interest in our capitalist and visually mediated society (Jim Drobnick, 2002). That the olfactory sense forces us to relate back to our bodies and have an awareness of our physical surroundings gives it potential to be useful in slowing us down and returning us to our empirical knowledge base. In this research I reflect on the factors that have led to this digital disembodiment, what its consequences are perceived to be and if a method and practice of Deep Smelling can counter them, via a process of ‘neuroemancipation’ as described by Italian Marxist theorist, Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi (2014).
| Date of Award | May 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Sponsors | Department for the Economy |
| Supervisor | Aisling O'Beirn (Supervisor) & Daniel Shipsides (Supervisor) |
Keywords
- olfaction
- art Practice
- scent
- decolonising smell