Museum of Discovery, Scent Memory Database

Speculative Architecture collaborated with artist Elizabeth Willing on this exhibition at University of South Australia’s Museum of Discovery (MOD). The premise of the exhibition was to provide a provocation for visitors to consider the connection between scent and memory.

We explored the spatial particularities of the venue to develop an enigmatic object that would encourage engagement, reflection, and curiosity in visitors. Proprietary industrial shelving is coloured with visceral tones to reflect a biological container. Scents are infused into a variety of fabrics, packaged in pink wrappers, and stored on the shelves to be opened, with scents released periodically throughout the year-long exhibition. Labels are playfully indirect to encourage individual reflection of how a particular smell may relate to a visitor’s personal memories.