Aistethics of Perfume

We know perfumes as branded vanities – sold as little luxuries that bear the names of couture brands such as Dior and Chanel that dictate how we smell ourselves and perceive nature and natural fragrances such as rose, jasmine or vanilla in our daily lives.

The craft and culture behind fragrance remains obscure. What is the motivation behind the creation of these scents, and what labour goes into creating certain ingedients? Worse still, the moment we think about scenting ourselves, stereotypes reign supreme: Racializing and exploiting the “Other” through oriental imagery or gendered divisions of the rose-scented female and the sporty-blue male not only sell perfume perfumes, they alter how we use smells in our daily lives. 

This event, facilitated by Public Scholar and doctoral candidate in Humanities Jayanthan Sriram, will showcase engages both perfumers and sensory scholars to ask what perfume and the industry mean today and how we can bridge the gap between its production and reception. Further, various interactive olfactory experiences, such as smelling scent compounds and adjusting sounds to approach olfactory sensations will pose different ways of relating to the airs that surround as on a daily basis. 

How can you participate? Join us in person or online by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube.

Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca

Organized by the Centre for Sensory Studies and Public Scholars Program (School of Graduate Studies).