What do atoms smell like?

An installation in which the visitor enters into the inner depths of the material – graphene – in order to perceive the colour of the atoms that compose it and their analogous sound, thus awakening new olfactory sensations.

Talking about the smell of atoms is a complex task, since in order for the smell to exist, a certain molecule must previously exist, composed in its turn of atoms. Atoms can be perceived through the colour of the light they emit and their analogous sound. In this way, a synaesthetic interplay is generated in which colour and sound can awaken specific olfactory sensations.

What would it be like if we were the size of an atom? What is it like to see, hear and smell matter on that scale? What would matter look, sound and smell like at that scale? A scale that is effectively invisible here becomes a haven in which our minds can imagine freely, allowing us to generate chromatic-acoustic sensations that awaken new perceptions through the sense of smell.

Hugo Martínez-Tormo