This
body of work embodies an introduction into my
developing interest in how human senses affect
spaces. Spatial experiences are unique varying
on an individual basis from person to person
thus making events exclusive for each user.
I have begun explorations in two sensory territories; smell and vision. The first project maps out existing smells along highway I-190 and sorts them into pollutant types. Floral scents are added in between the pollution olfaction to enhance the experience of travel. What I find interesting about smell is its close connection with the brain and the emotional responses it triggers. Smells can activate forgotten memories of an event or remind you of a person who somehow impacted your life. Odors affect our daily lives and ways in which we perceive spaces adding certain richness to life that goes unappreciated. I want to explore these triggers and the different life experiences that are recollected for different olfactory scents.
Light also affects personal experiences in spaces. Objects are distinguished through the way light bounces off of them reflecting back into your eye. Cones and rods in the eye sort through shapes and color. Cones work better in dim light while rods work better in higher levels of illumination. I have begun to explore how to graphically represent light using different illumination levels and how humans respond to light brightness. When there is sufficient sunlight provided by windows, artificial light is not required. When the light is too intense, people reduce the illumination by using shades to block the quantity of foot-candles.
Personal experiences within spaces are ultimately unique as well as the ways in which the space in engaged. Through understanding emotional responses and other brain functions, spaces can be enhanced through the senses to alter normal expectations. This is what I am trying to achieve with my work through these initial studies of olfaction and vision.
I have begun explorations in two sensory territories; smell and vision. The first project maps out existing smells along highway I-190 and sorts them into pollutant types. Floral scents are added in between the pollution olfaction to enhance the experience of travel. What I find interesting about smell is its close connection with the brain and the emotional responses it triggers. Smells can activate forgotten memories of an event or remind you of a person who somehow impacted your life. Odors affect our daily lives and ways in which we perceive spaces adding certain richness to life that goes unappreciated. I want to explore these triggers and the different life experiences that are recollected for different olfactory scents.
Light also affects personal experiences in spaces. Objects are distinguished through the way light bounces off of them reflecting back into your eye. Cones and rods in the eye sort through shapes and color. Cones work better in dim light while rods work better in higher levels of illumination. I have begun to explore how to graphically represent light using different illumination levels and how humans respond to light brightness. When there is sufficient sunlight provided by windows, artificial light is not required. When the light is too intense, people reduce the illumination by using shades to block the quantity of foot-candles.
Personal experiences within spaces are ultimately unique as well as the ways in which the space in engaged. Through understanding emotional responses and other brain functions, spaces can be enhanced through the senses to alter normal expectations. This is what I am trying to achieve with my work through these initial studies of olfaction and vision.
