A NEW exhibition has come to Reading exploring the relationship between words and smells with a one-of-a-kind art showcase.
Fragrant Words: The Art of Scent in English Literature is a mixed-media exhibition which examines how scents can communicate narratives through sensory experience.
A number of scents have been curated by head perfumer E. Gabriel De Carvalho to replicate and embody works of literature, both classic and contemporary, and tell some of the story through smell.
The exhibition examines the worlds of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte, William Shakespeare, John Keats, and Virginia Woolf, touching on the olfactory themes which enrich the works and how they can shape sensory experiences.
It follows a recent exhibition, Scent of Colour: A Social Exploration, which examined the synaesthetic relationships between visual colour cues and smell.
Gabriel De Carvalho said: “In creating ‘Fragrant Words’, I delved into the pages of classic English literature, extracting and interpreting the olfactory elements that weave through the narratives.
“The resulting fragrances provide a new medium to experience these stories, adding a sensory depth that complements the written word.”
Fragrant Words: The Art of Scent in English Literature is showing in the HUMOS Studio and showroom on Church Road, Caversham.
Showings are open from noon-5pm Thursdays-Saturdays, and from noon-3pm on Sundays, until Sunday, December 10.
More details are available via: humos.co.uk
