In Stranger Scents, I begin to explore what new lines of communication and community open up when we make visible the byproducts of our bodies: our scents. Rummaging through a discarded box of jewelry outside of my apartment building, I placed a string of pearls around my neck. Warm vanilla filled my nose, a perfume emanating from the necklace. Here was a person I had never seen, but through smell I had an intimate experience with. I have continued to collect stranger’s discarded objects found around my home and use a traditional perfumes mixture of ethanol to extract scents into small vials of olfactory identity. Each perfume freezes a moment of interaction, exploring the ways we communicate non-verbally through molecular interactions. Our scents are the off-products of our sweat, our cooking, our shampoos, our clothing: the molecular network that extends far beyond the reaches of our sight. How does our interactions with strangers change when we wear someone else’s scent, carry someone else’s identity and molecular memories?
Above scents: Scent of a stranger who uses anti-aging lotion, Scent of a stranger who wears a knit hat, Scent of a stranger who wears drugstore lipstick and Zara perfume, Scent of a stranger who owns a Ralph Lauren bag, Scent of a stranger who wears a knit hat with pearls and glitter, Scent of a stranger who eats hot sauce, Scent of a stranger who brushes their hair regularly, Scent of a stranger who wears a fake pearl neclace, Scent of a stranger who wears one red climbing shoe, Scent of a stranger who decorates with lace doilies, Scent of myself
Above scents: Scent of a stranger who carries a doll with wool hair, Scent of a stranger who takes free candy from the dental office, Scent of a stranger who wears name brand socks.
Above scent: Scent of a stranger who wears fake pearl necklaces.