If consciously wearing perfume is part of an identity construction process, then could a specifically designed olfactory costume affect the interactions of those wearing it with their environment, or perhaps encourage performative behavior? If so, could narrative components or patterns emerge from this olfactory experience?

Perfume might often be described or advertised as enchanting, eerie, charming, or alluring among others, scents however are rarely mentioned in fairy and folk tales, the realm of enchantment par excellence. In an effort to activate the human body and the surrounding air with a potential for narrative and explore the possibility of a relationship between scent, storytelling, and performativity, I developed [_], an olfactory art piece that wafted through Athens, Greece from September to December 2021.

[_] is a scent, given to twenty participants to wear, monitor, and optionally document their reactions and those of their environment spontaneously. Following the experiment, discussions with the participants revealed compelling experiences and stories, performative behaviors, fictional accounts, characters, and situations at the intersection of the mundane, the creative, and the magical. [_], is a redolent experiment that explores potential relationships between bodies, smell, agency, costume, performance, and (re)enchantment within the contemporary urban setting.

A peer-reviewed research paper on the piece, “The invisible cloak: an olfactory experiment and tales of (re)enchantment” was published in the collective volume of Special Issue of Studies in Costume & Performance 7.2 in 2023. https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/scp_00077_1

 

[_], 2021, olfactory component in 30ml glass bottle, box 9 x 9 x 9cm, chiffon fabric, and collage of participants’ material