Presentation:

Smell-blind: Anosmia

Odorama 06 - with Kirsten Jaarsma, Dorien Scheltens and Sanne Boesveldt

7 Apr 2016

Whether derived from nature, or chemically constructed, odourant molecules have the ability to profoundly effect our behaviour, emotions and associations. But what happens when you completely lose your sense of smell and become smell-blind? At this edition of Odorama we will discuss the inability to smell.

Come early for a special discount on the Pizza Nero and Pizza Rosso
(now only €8,- instead of €11,-!)

Food from 18:00**, talks begin at 20:00
Tickets / Facebook

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Anosmia - Smell blindness Lisanne Groenewoud

Anosmia?

Anosmia (/ænˈɒzmiə/) is the inability to perceive odor or a lack of functioning olfaction—the loss of the sense of smell. Anosmia may be temporary, but some anosmia (including traumatic anosmia) can be permanent.

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Anosmia - Imagine being unable to smell the fresh spring flowers. Lisanne Groenewoud

With: Megan Bishop

Kirsten Jaarsma

Is smelling an underrated sense? And what happens if you lose the ability to smell? Kirsten Jaarsma is president of the Dutch Association of Anosmia. Through her personal experiences and stories she will try to illustrate what it is like to live without perceiving scents. How does this affect the daily experiences of eating, safety and even emotions? For the Dutch Association of Anosmia she is now working on collecting these experiences and creating more awareness for smell and taste disorders.

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Kirsten Jaarsma - Kirsten Jaarsma telling about her loss of smell Lisanne Groenewoud

Dorien Scheltens

What are the things you miss the most when you cannot smell? The smell of coffee in the morning? The scent of your own home? Or perhaps the smell of your new born baby? Dorien Scheltens is a photographer and in her work she visually portrays her experience of anosmia in images. She will also demonstrate how we have become used to olfactory products that are designed to cover up natural scents.

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Dorien Scheltens - Dorien Scheltens elaborates on her photographic project 'Neutral'. Lisanne Groenewoud

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Dorien Scheltens - Neutral - In this work by Dorien Scheltens, the loss of smell is explored in terms of visual representation. Dorien Scheltens

Dr. Sanne Boesveldt

Dr. Sanne Boesveldt will enlighten us with an neurobiologic perspective. How does our olfactory organ work? Dr. Boesveldt did extensive research on the effects of high-fat food odors on people. For Odorama she will explain more about the trigeminal nerves, the nerve that is responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewing, that also allow us to feel instead of smell fragrant substances.

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Dr. Sanne Boesveldt - Dr. Sanne Boesveldt elaborating on the olfactory organ. Lisanne Groenewoud

For this event Skins Cosmetics kindly sponsors us in scents. Find our more about their perfume diagnose and products here.

Information
Odorama: Smell-blind, Anosmia
Thursday, April 7th
Food from 18.00**, talk at 20.00
Biotoop Mediamatic, Dijksgracht 6, Amsterdam
Tickets: Students €5,- / Pre-sale: €7,50 / Door: €10,-

**Special discount on the Pizza Nero for Odorama visitors Show your ticket at the bar and pay only €8,- instead of €11,-!