Sissel Tolaas on smell and design

In this episode, our cofounder Paola Antonelli interviews Sissel Tolaas, the Berlin-based Norwegian artist, chemist, and researcher who has dedicated her life to exploring smell in all its facets and expressions. With a background in chemistry and linguistics, Sissel has developed an interdisciplinary practice that spans the fields of art, science, and technology, with a particular focus on olfactory communication and the role of smell in human experience.

Over the course of her career, Sissel has conducted extensive research on the human sense of smell, exploring everything from the molecular structure of odors to the cultural and social contexts in which they are produced and perceived. She has created a vast scent archive comprising thousands of smells from around the world, and has used these smells to create a range of olfactory installations, products, and artworks that challenge our perceptions of scent and our relationship with the world around us.

Sissel's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, and she has collaborated with a wide range of individuals and organizations, from perfumers and fashion designers to scientists and architects. In ll her projects, she has sought to expand our understanding of the role of smell in human life and to promote the idea that smell is not just a sensory experience, but also a powerful tool for communication, memory, and identity.

Thank you for joining us. You can find images of Sissel and her work on our Instagram grid @design.emergency. And you can tune into this episode of Design Emergency and others on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Acast and other podcast platforms.

Design Emergency is supported by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts

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