Grasping Smell

Elusive and invisible, smell is hard to pin down. Mickaël Wiesengrün goes a step further and captures something even more intangible – the smell of the past. Working with renowned chemist, nose and artist, Sissel Tolaas, he reintroduces the industrial odours such as grease, metal and sweat that once pervaded a former Philips light bulb factory in 1930s Eindhoven. The installation, Révélateur, adds context with pungent hints of the past. His related project Brûme, gives physicality to smell via a fragrant fog. Smell becomes a visual form as fascinating as the scent diffused.