Smelly Art

So far artists have relied on two senses to display their work: sight and hearing. The current exhibition "If There Ever Was" at Reg Vardy Gallery is expanding art's influence on the senses by clearing out their paintings and sculptures for 14 empty rooms examining the art of the scent. The idea comes from the curator Robert Blackson, who got the idea of creating scents from the section of Fast Food Nation that discusses how flavors and smells could be recreated using chemicals. He gathered a team of 11 perfume and fragrance designers to set about the task of recreating unreachable smells, ranging from extinct plants, to the sun, and even a strand of Cleopatra's hair.

If you happen to be in Northeast England, pop over to Sunderland to see the exhibition before it closes on June 6th. For the rest of us in London and beyond, we support art transcending all the senses. Hopefully the next exhibition of this kind can focus on taste and give us an amazing five-course meal.