SCENT OF A CULTURE

Renk Erbil’s work adopts this highly complex conception to diverse cultures and their association with scents. Smell is not just a biological and psychological experience, it is also a social and cultural phenomenon. We can all match smells with countries, Spain, China, Turkey, Colombia or Nigeria, What is their most known smell? What comes to your mind? Orange blossom, mint, incense, jasmine, cinnamon, coral? there is a scientific connection between smell, memory and behaviour. However, there are other aspects we must consider when we talk about smell and they are culture and geographical factor. We can easily associate and determinate smell to places we have visited or places we have lived in. Living in a multi-cultural community in London herself she often experiences scents that reminds her of back home. Cultures we live in where the sense of smell is highly valued nowadays and odour is considered to be the essence of personal identity. For her work titled “Scent of a culture” Artist uses twenty participants from different cultures, religions and ages and challenges them to connect with their native roots and their relationship as well as their association with one’s element that connects them to its smell.