king james the sixth and first
Presence is a scent on display as part of The World of King James VI & I at The National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait Gallery.
Presence is an interpretation of early 17th century perfume, created as a companion to the Account of the Prince's Apothecary from 28th April 1622.
Inspiration for the scent was drawn both from recipes for perfumes published at the time and from the wider fashions of the court.
Pictured: Scent Bottle. Unknown. Late sixteenth–early seventeenth century, enamelled gold, opals, opaline chalcedony, diamonds, rubies, pink sapphires and spinels. Museum of London (A14156)
sauchiehall Street
Not to Be Sniffed At - An aromatic history of Sauchiehall Street was an exhibition and events series in collaboration with Glasgow Building Preservation Trust
The exhibition invited visitors to explore the history of this significant street through a nose-first lens. Featuring a wide collection of “found scents” highlights included: a live bog (on loan from Millerston Moss) with heather and bog mosses growing in peaty soil; a fragment of The Glasgow School of Art (burnt in the 2018 fire); a piece of old cinema carpet that smelled of decades of popcorn.
olfactive evolution
Olfactive Evolution by Eliza Collin was displayed as part of The Design Museum’s 2024 Design Researchers in Residence: Solar
Using data produced by scientists studying how plants are responding to climatic stress, Clara recreated two sets of floral scents for visitors to experience: Jasminum Auriculatum (25 Degrees and 30 Degrees) and Campanula Rotundifolia (Watered and Drought.)
billowing clouds of scented opera
Skunk without K is Sun is an experimental three act solo opera. Louise Ahl’s work uses audio description as operatic sung material. Clara created three environmental scents that exist as another layer of narration.
The opera explores the human tendency to describe and name its presence in order to exist.
THE SCENT OF INSULIN
The Scent of Insulin is an ongoing research project. Insulin is an expensive substance – varying sources report it as being either the fifth or sixth most expensive liquid in the world – next to Chanel No. 5.
Insulin has a distinctive smell, familiar to those who rely upon it for life and to those who care for them. The first phase of this research project was funded by Unlimited in 2021. A smashed vial of Humalog was displayed at Olfactory Art Keller in May 2024, where it is currently for sale.
a library of olfactive material
Clara is the founder of A Library of Olfactive Material - an open access resource for scent education, exploration and experimentation. 300+ fragrant substances, books, magazines and ephemera are available to explore during the monthly open sessions (Library Hours) and one off workshops.
dundee design festival
Approaching Air was part of Dundee Design Festival 2019. Visitors to the festival were invited to contribute their hopes and wishes for the city.
These ‘preferable futures’ were translated by Clara into scent materials and accords, and then into a fragrance during the first few days of the festival. The resulting fragrance was then diffused into the lab space for the remainder of the festival, and subsequently out into the present day Dundee.
early modern perfume
EARLY MODERN is a playful exploration of contemporary perfumery. The debut collection of four fragrances are here to remind you of something, but you are not sure what.