Inhaling Passions: Art, Sex and Scent

Abstract

In the last decade or so, a number of artists have strategically integrated olfactory elements into their artwork to address the emotional, physiological and cultural complexities of eroticism. By reassessing and converting the supposed abnormality of scents into something ubiquitous, offering critiques of and alternatives to the cultural mandate of the deodorized body, and expanding the range and depth of the olfactory imaginaire, these artists have posited a dynamic, pivotal relationship between scent and sexuality.