As London prepares to host the upcoming Frieze art fair, a growing trend is emerging within contemporary art: the use of scent as a medium. Increasingly, exhibitions are incorporating olfactory elements to engage audiences beyond the visual, creating immersive "smellscapes" that evoke memories, emotions, and political reflections.
The Turner Prize shortlist this year includes an artwork by Marguerite Humeau featuring honeycomb, alabaster, and blown glass, where the natural scent of the honeycomb lingers as part of the experience. Similarly, Tate Modern showcased Sámi artist and land defender Máret Ánne Sara’s installation, which included reindeer hides arranged on metal and was accompanied by a synthetic scent designed to embody “reindeer fear.” This olfactory addition enhanced the atmospheric impact of the piece within the vast Turbine Hall.
Earlier in 2024, London’s Chisenhale Gallery presented Racheal Crowther’s "Liquid Trust," combining architectural design, color, and scent to explore institutional treatment of bodies. The installation painted the room in "drunk-tank pink," a hue associated with calming aggression, while diffusing fragrances derived from powdered baby milk with floral undertones. This fusion of smell and color prompted visitors to consider the socio-political dimensions of the space.
Scent also features in less conventional settings at the Frieze art fair, with artist Gray Wielebinski delivering a site-specific commission focused on public restrooms. Customized urinal and toilet deodorizers activate as visitors enter, offering an intimate olfactory experience that draws attention to societal and psychological dynamics surrounding public bathrooms.
The use of scent in museums has historic precedence. Since 1984, York’s Jorvik Viking Centre has recreated medieval city odors, including rotting fish and cesspits. More recently, the Victoria & Albert Museum’s "Marie Antoinette Style" exhibition featured scented busts representing different aspects of the queen’s life—from Versailles’ grand balls to her prison cell—in an effort to communicate history through smell.
Marcel Duchamp is often credited as a pioneer of olfactory art. In 1938, the surrealist filled a gallery at the International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris with the aroma of roasting coffee beans to evoke the “scents of Brazil.” Today’s artists and institutions are expanding on Duchamp’s legacy. In 2022, Madrid’s Prado Museum recreated sixteen scents from Jan Brueghel and Peter Rubens’ 1617-18 painting "The Sense of Smell," using technology developed by Spanish firm Puig. Inspired by this, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham recently opened "Scent & the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites," featuring scent diffusers activated by touchscreens beneath John Everett Millais’s 1856 painting "The Blind Girl," allowing visitors to smell rain-soaked grass and damp wool.
Art critic Jennifer Higgie highlights the significance of smell as a medium in art, pointing out that while olfactory cues have long been suggested in works involving flowers or food, it was only with Duchamp that smell was intentionally integrated into art presentations. She emphasizes smell’s power to bypass intellectual analysis and evoke immediate, visceral memories. Higgie also notes the political potential of scent, citing feminist artists such as Judy Chicago and Clara Ursitti, who have used olfactory elements to address identity and experience.
Antje Kiewell, founder of Artphilia—a curation studio responsible for the Barber Institute exhibition—observes that scent is gaining recognition as a powerful artistic tool. She points to its emotional resonance and accessibility, noting that even those unfamiliar with art can form meaningful connections through smell. This tactile element, she suggests, “loosens everything up” and opens new avenues for engagement, a development welcomed by many artists and curators today.