English (UK) 
日本語 - Invisible Footprints -
space installation (2019)
Olfactory Labyrinth ver. 5 is a finalist for the Art and Olfaction Sadakichi Award for Experimental Work with Scent.
The Art and Olfaction Awards celebrate excellence in global independent and artisan perfumery, and experimental work with scent.
DATE: Oct 12, 2019. – Dec 08, 2019
VENUE: Kiyosu Haruhi Museum of Art (premier, solo exhibition)
CURATOR: Nana FUJIMOTO
SUPPORT: Yamamoto Perfumery Co., Ltd.
[Experience]
Imagine you are a dog. You can experience this work with two ways:
A: By leaving fragrant footprint - choose your fragrant slippers, step on the stamp pad to absorb the fragrant ink (it’s transparent), and then walk on the floor.
B: By tracing them - sniff like a dog and trace the fragrance you like.
This installation questions our abilities of a scent-driven and spatial form of communication in relation to the abilities of other creatures.
[Technical Facts]
The floor is made with clay that absorbs water quickly. As you walk, you would leave visible footsteps, but they disappear quickly, already in a couple of seconds. However the fragrance stays for 1 to 3 hours. Only top notes are used, randomly selected from over 30 natural and synthetic ingredients:
- Green Slippers: Cis 3 Hexenol
- Light Blue Slippers: Eucalyptus oil
- Blue Slippers: Rosemary oil
- Red Slippers: Lavandin oil
- Orange Slippers: Orange oil(Colorless)
- Yellow Slippers: Limonen
- Brown Slippers: Pine Needles oil
The stamp pad is self designed, and the solvent is also composed by myself accustomed to the behavior of the clay.
[Story]
Olfactory Labyrinth is a series of space installation for researching space exploration navigated by the sense of smell.
As I walk a dog daily, I noticed that dogs live on the totally different layer than us: on the layer of smell. They play power game or attract each other by leaving footsteps, pees and poops: they communicate each other with smell for the purpose of protecting territories and reproduction. The scent includes abundant information identifying its sex, age, and size.
Compared to them we human beings can communicate very little with the sense of smell. This installation questions us about the scent-driven communication.
