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Peter De Cupere defines himself as an olfactory artist, giving special attention to that often overlooked sense that makes us nostalgic, nauseated and hungry (sometimes all at once). Today we spend more time covering up smells than we do experiencing them, but De Cupere paints with scents, produces olfactory objects, soap paintings and sculptures, creates video and live performances, makes three-dimensional drawings and builds poetic smell installations. By exploiting the subjective, associative impact of smells, in combination with visual images, he generates a kind of meta-sensory experience that goes beyond purely seeing or smelling. De Cupere is exploring and exposing fragrances in revolutionary new ways. While often smell is dismissed as a fleeting pleasure or annoyance, the artist’s works reminds us of the poetic powers resting in our nostrils. Scent, more than any other sense, directly affects our limbic systems and prompts a visceral, almost uncontrollable reaction. While sight can be processed from a distance, scent triggers your memory, turns you on, makes you nauseous, even poisons your body... all outside of your consciousness. In this mini olfactory lab Peter De Cupere combines some of his experiments for visitors to experience.
