SENTIENCE

Ollie Cotsaftis and Sarah McArthur (AU)

What is our innate response to the smell of blood? And are we unconsciously led by our biases, instincts or genetics?

Exploring social stigma and taboo, Sentience is designed to provoke an instinctual response, ranging from disgust, fear, shame, or even hunger or pleasure. The smell of blood is produced by a single molecule, trans-4,5-epoxy-2(E)-Decenal, which is a powerful olfactory signal that triggers an innate, physiological response.

Inspired by the link between smell and memory, Sentience relates to our capacity as humans to perceive, feel or experience subjectively. It is believed that much of our emotional response to smell is governed by association, which explains why individuals perceive the same smell differently. After engaging with Sentience, participants are encouraged to pause, reflect, and question their beliefs around the stigma and taboo of blood.

Embedded in the nascent practice of experiential art, Sentience crosses boundaries and disciplines, and is inspired by the likes of smell artist Sissel Tolaas, installation artist duo Nanotak, and Behavioral Physiologist Prof. Matthias Laska. The work is an open invitation to navigate between the analogue and the digital, the tangible and the abstract, and presents audience members with a fleeting experience that recalls memories and feelings deeply rooted in time.

Sarah&Ollie like to provoke and question by pushing the boundaries of the human experience. Present at the intersection of the physical, the digital and the sensorial, they use various media to create new alchemies. Interested in the space in between, Sarah&Ollie drive contrast like two forces trying to pull each other apart.