WHAT SMELLS DO YOU identify  with THE distinct emotional  qualities  of  places?

ARTIST: LOWANA DAVIES
PROJECT: CATCHING A WHIFF
PROJECT PARTNERS: SPLENDOUR ARTS/SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS, HOTA HOME OF THE ARTS, CITY OF GOLD COAST: GOLD COAST WATER STRATEGY AND THE ARTS AND CULTURE UNIT, REGIONAL ARTS DEVELOPMENT FUND GOLD COAST, THE OLD LOCK UP/IN ARTIST RUN INITIATIVE, SAMFORD ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH FACILITY.
COSTUME DESIGN: COURTENAY MCCUE
CREATIVE TEAM: AINSLEE PALMER, LISA SMITH, TOM LYONS, TESSA BERGAN
DOCUMENTATION: ELLAMAY FITZGERALD, SALVADOR CANTELLANO

Catching a Whiff invites participants to ride the waves in an ocean of air on a walking tour led by  the  artist  and  a  duo  of  Olfactory  Agents. Conceived in the Southport  CBD on the Gold Coast, the artwork has been presented at Splendour in the Grass and at HOTA Home of the Arts.

Catching a Whiff offers participants the opportunity to be engaged in our sensory entanglements with places. Across 20-60 minutes, the artist and her collaborators  guide  participants  through  a range of sites and sensory experiences, touching on citizen science and olfactory observations. 

A  melting  pot  of  science, performance  and  smelling,  Catching  a  Whiff explores  the  notion  that  smells  are  both ecological and cultural, and that the science and art  of  noticing  scents  helps  us  to  identify  distinct  emotional  qualities  of  places  and  the bodies that express them. 

Catching a Whiff was presented at Splendour in the Grass curated by Craig Walsh in 2023, and later that year at HOTA Parklands as part of Sensing Water in Place for National Water Week, on behalf of City of Gold Coast Water Strategy and the Arts and Culture Unit.