I Smell Human

In Susan’s traveling performance art piece “I Smell Human,” participants line up to enter a confession booth to have their armpits read and described by a professional sommelier, poet, and perfumer. These readings apprehend a person’s unique aromatic signature: human scent arises from bacterial by-products of unique fatty acid profiles as well as metabolites from recent experiential and environmental influences. The scent descriptors are recorded by a nearby scribe and broadcast onto a scrolling LED ticker that is visible from the adjacent lounge so that bystanders can read a recording of the collective live perfume of each event which constitutes a unique and unrepeatable formula of human presence.

Scent Walks

Earth speaks the language of smell. As climate change threatens the biodiversity of earth’s ecosystems, scientists and artists are urgently documenting species at risk of vanishing. These scientific samples and artistic impressions provide an invaluable record of the earth’s wildlife. However, an essential aspect of this record is missing from these accounts: smell. Susan is on a mission to record the earth’s unique bouquets through the form of artisanal perfumes. Read more about her scent walk at Castello di Potentino here.