Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: Poolside scents

03 : 06 : 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale 2016 : E-motional Economy : Scent

Venice – An exhibition hosted by the Australian Pavilion examines the notion of the swimming pool as a symbol of unity.

  • The interactive space is modelled after a public swimming pool
  • Visitors can experience two bespoke scents that aim to evoke memories of swimming pools
The Pool, Australian Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2016 The Pool, Australian Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2016
The Pool, Australian Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2016 The Pool, Australian Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2016
The Pool, Australian Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2016 The Pool, Australian Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2016
The Pool, Australian Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2016 The Pool, Australian Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2016

The exhibition, which is open until November 2016, examines the role of the public pool as a social leveller, and, as children swam alongside journalists, softened the festival’s air of formality.

The multi-sensory experience features scents designed by artists Tony Perkins and Lyn Balzer that are designed to evoke memories of swimming pools.

The scents were produced by a French perfumer who was provided with a series of images of landscapes and instructed to imagine what each location might smell like.

‘L’Obscurite expresses the scent of black volcanic rocks warming up in the sun by the sea, while L’Etrangete expresses the scent of sunlight through leaves by a waterfall in our local rainforest,’ says Balzer.

The Big Picture

Projects such as The Pool and Cyrano examine how scent can be used to enhance a person’s mood by triggering memories and emotions.

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