Xinyi Hu is a student in Level 5. The name of the work she is presenting this time is “Visualization of Scents in Intimate Relationships”, and the inspiration for it comes from her personal experiences in life.
Scent is omnipresent, permeating every corner of our lives. Each specific scene has its unique olfactory indicators, which are not merely molecules in the air but also perceptual elements closely linked to the environment, context, and memory. Therefore, when we suddenly smell a familiar scent at a certain moment, it often triggers a series of associations rapidly. This olfactory stimulus can evoke people, events, objects, and scenes we have experienced in our minds. This phenomenon indicates that we have unintentionally personalized scents. Although olfaction is a non-visual perception method, it can transform abstract information into concrete images through our memory and experience.
In this installation, she will create around different types of sensory stimuli. For instance, by presenting the childhood memories triggered by the smell of a certain food or flower, or by using colors and shapes to convey visual associations, she aims to enable viewers to naturally recall important moments she has personally experienced, as well as the circumstances of marginalized groups, while appreciating the illustrations. To achieve this goal, this project also plans to incorporate textual explanations, providing background stories and relevant interpretations for each illustration to help viewers better understand and engage in this unique experience. This multi-dimensional experience not only evokes viewers’ resonance with fragments of her past life but also prompts them to reflect on the emotional changes brought about by scents and how memories shape our personal identities.
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