About

Scents of Solastalgia (SoS) is a collaboration between Tarsh Bates and Susan Hauri-Downing that examines the significance of olfactory landscapes to the rapidly changing, multi-species experiences of place. Smellscapes are recognised as an important part of human wellbeing and health and are vital aspects of culture and memory, including grief rituals. However, the role of olfaction in human and more-than-human experiences of environmental change and loss is not well understood. We explore solastalgia (the distress caused by environmental change) through a more-than-human olfactory lens, asking how smellscapes contribute to place-making by humans and non-humans and trace how olfaction contributes to human and non-human distress at the changes or loss of place. Through a series of eco-sensory community workshops, we examine how olfactory creative practices can help us understand and manage ecological distress and welcome or imagine novel ecologies. This project compares olfactory experiences of solastalgia around the world.