Sniff/Smell

When a woman walks past me I always enjoy inhaling -I raise my nose slightly- the scent she leaves behind and at the same time follows her. In this way I have subtly smelled many women, and will go on doing so as long as there are women that go walking.

When I see a painting exhibited, even one of mine, I also like getting as close as possible to it to smell it. Once, at the Beyeler Foundation in Riehen, very near Basel, the alarm went off when I tried to smell Monet’s water lilies.

I enjoy smelling paintings very much, yet I enjoy smelling women much more.

Alfredo Álvarez Plágaro