The Belgian artist Peter De Cupere uses smell as a medium in all his works of art. De Cupere makes paintings and images of soap, creates video and live performances, produces three-dimensional drawings and, in this way, produces poetic odour installations. De Cupere’s work is ruthless: you either love it or loath it. But it’s guaranteed to provoke a response. Through smell, De Cupere makes a direct appeal to the limbic system, without giving the spectator time to make an interpretation or to apply the idea. According to De Cupere, odours have more or less been forgotten. Modern people have become accustomed to smells that sometimes communicate a very direct and important message. De Cupere’s work is an ode to the subjective and associative effect of smell. Combined with visual imagery, De Cupere creates a meta-sensory observation surpassing sight and smell as separate entities.
www.peterdecupere.com
