Elise Chalcraft

How do you imitate scents from nature?

Frank speaking on NPO Radio 1 about Smelling Like Another Being

Listen to our resident parfumier Frank Bloem as he talks about his recent workshop Smelling Like Another Being, developed here at Mediamatic, on NPO Radio 1. 

Listen to the full interview   here .  Frank Bloem   speaking about how to use smell in not only pleasant ways but also using it to create smells of other beings including plants, minerals, fungi, and even bacteria! Screenshot taken on 15.08.2022 from NPO Radio 1 website article:  Geuren uit de natuur maken, hoe doe je dat?   on 11.08.2022. 

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Listen here to Frank's interview with NPO Radio 1 about his new workshop he has developed in tango with Mediamatic, Smelling like Another Being

In a previous interview held at Medimatic by Fredrik Link about how smell is used as a disguise for other beings, Frank explains “smell happens in the conscious part of your brain. You are smelling smells constantly. Only you don't realise it or are aware of it.” Humans' relationship to smell is subconscious and very individualistic. We all use smell as a disguise in some ways, some more than others. The new workshop "Smelling like another Being" is a place that allows you to explore scents of other species, not only animals but, plants, bacteria, fungi, or minerals. You will learn the process of perfume making and how to best use the wide range of scents we have on our open scent library. 

Read more about how smell is used as a disguise here in Fred's article. 

Frank Bloem is an artist, and our resident parfumier, who uses scent as his main medium. He studied Fine Arts at the Rietveld Academy. In the summer of 2016, Frank changed his specialism from visual art to olfactory-based works and started The Snifferoo. This perfume laboratory is a place for education and experiments around smell. He made several personalized perfumes, hosts regular workshops, and has recreated the elephant smell of Artis, the Amsterdam Zoo.

 

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Portraits: Ana smelling tomato scent - Smelling another being! Here, our intern Ana Brichta is smelling some strawberry scents during the workshop 'Smelling like another being'. 'Smelling like another being' is a workshop hosted by our lecturer Frank Bloem, which promotes awareness about the diversity of species in our ecosystem by smelling. This workshop consists of creating scents in a lab using different substances based on different types of species (namely microbes, plants, fungus, animals and minerals).  Photo taken in May 3rd, 2022.  Andrea Valdivia

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Frank Bloem voor een deel van het geurorgel - Anne Lakeman

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Tijmen and Mares smelling and smiling - Smelling like another being! Here, our guests Tijmen and Mares are smelling and combining some scents during the workshop 'Smelling like another being'. 'Smelling like another being' is a workshop hosted by our lecturer Frank Bloem, which promotes awareness about the diversity of species in our ecosystem by smelling. This workshop consists of creating scents in a lab using different substances based on different types of species (namely microbes, plants, fungus, animals and minerals).  Photo taken in May 3rd, 2022.  Andrea Valdivia

References:

The Snifferoo - Frank Bloem, 2019.

How is smell used as a disguise in beings? - Fredrik Link, 2022.