Diffusing Terpenes

KMH, Liechtenstein, 2022

"Diffusing Terpenes" © Paul Divjak / Bildrecht

“Diffusing Terpenes” © Paul Divjak / Bildrecht

“Diffusing Terpenes: The Effects of Forest Bathing” (Scent installation at the occasion of: “durchforsten”, KMH – küefermartishuus / Liechtenstein, 27.5 – 18.12. 2022)

Studies have shown the significant physiological effect forest atmosphere can have on humans. This circumstance has lead to the so-called trend of “forest bathing” (Shinrin Yoku). Scientists assume that the effects are achieved by breathing in the forest atmosphere, which contains various phytochemicals produced mainly by trees. So far, many terpenes prevalent in forest air have been found to have strong biological activities; their possible antiviral, antibacterial, antitumourigenic or neuroprotective effects have been demonstrated. Although research is increasingly focusing on the potential impacts, scientific data and evidence as well as the understanding of the potential and possible uses of terpenes are still lacking in many cases.

With the scent installation “Diffusing Terpenes: The Effects of Forest Bathing”, the Viennese artist and scent researcher Paul Divjak is staging a temporary experimental arrangement: visitors at Küefer-Martis Huus are invited to follow their noses, take their time and let the effects of a selected composition of natural forest-specific aromas take effect on them. At the end of the exhibition’s duration, the impressions and answers collected as well as observations on location over six months will provide possible answers and insights.

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“Diffusing Terpenes: The Effects of Forest Bathing” (Scent installation – im Rahmen der Ausstellung “durchforsten”, KMH – küefermartishuus / Liechtenstein, 27.5 – 18.12. 2022)

Studien haben gezeigt, dass die Waldatmosphäre eine bedeutende physiologische Wirkung auf den Menschen hat, was sich unter anderem in dem Trend zum sogenannten „Waldbaden“ (Shinrin Yoku) niederschlägt. Wissenschafter:Innen nehmen an, dass diese Wirkungen durch das Einatmen der Waldatmosphäre erreicht werden, die verschiedene Phytochemikalien enthält, die hauptsächlich von Bäumen produziert werden. Bislang wurde festgestellt, dass viele in der Waldluft vorherrschende Terpene starke biologische Aktivitäten aufweisen; ihre möglichen antiviralen, antibakteriellen, antitumorigenen oder neuroprotektiven Wirkungen konnten nachgewiesen werden. Obwohl sich die Forschung vermehrt mit den möglichen Effekten befasst, fehlen vielfach noch wissenschaftliche Daten und Belege sowie das Verständnis für das Potential und die Nutzungsmöglichkeiten von Terpenen.

Mit der Duftinstallation “Diffusing Terpenes: The Effects of Forest Bathing” inszeniert der Wiener Künstler und Duftforscher Paul Divjak eine temporäre Versuchsanordnung: Besucher:innen des Küefer-Martis Huus sind eingeladen, ihren Nasen zu folgen, sich Zeit zu nehmen und die Wirkung einer ausgewählten Komposition aus natürlichen waldspezifischen Aromen auf sich wirken zu lassen, ihre persönlichen Assoziation und Gedanken zu notieren und in der im Museum aufgestellten „Waldbade-Box“ abzugeben. Am Ende der Laufzeit der Ausstellung werden die über sechs Monate gesammelten Eindrücke einen Einblick in die Bandbreite der künstlerischen Forschung geben.



DIFFUSING MOLECULES #3

Scent Design – Christmas Market Schloß Schönbrunn

Setup: Schönbrunn-Duftinszenierung ©Paul Divjak

“Diffusing Molecules #3″, preparation work

Scent design for the traditional Christmas Market at Schloß Schönbrunn, Vienna – Winter 2013. [Client: MTS Marketing Tourismus Synergie Wien GmbH]

In cooperation with Elke Kies from MagicBox we composed subtile resinous fir tree notes and exclusive orange and herbal blends. And provided the client with three custom-built scent beaming units in order to create extraordinary olfactory experiences for the visitors of the market.
Imagine: a romantic winter night, a slight breeze, and a smelly smell. All organic. – Just a senusal surplus. No manipulation intended.


Trust Room

by Jeanette Müller – Muscat, Oman (SoL Global Forum)

Trust Room

©Jeanette Müller

For this project at the intersection of applied sociopolitical utopia and conceptual art I developed an all natural scent diffused in a huge tent, placed in front of the Hilton, Muscat.

The aim was to create an overall feel good-atmosphere, which effects calmness, strength and clarity and helps the international participants to get into a grounded and confident mood before heading to their presentations, conference panels and discussions.

Jeanette Müller / Trust Room


Diffusing Molecules #2

Scent Design for the Museum of Natural History

Scent design for the travelling exhibition KINGDOM OF SALT / DAS WEISSE GOLD DER KELTEN [Clients: Museum of Natural History, Vienna / Museumspartner, Innsbruck]

Focusing on the newest interdisciplinary research, the exhibition shows the town of Hallstatt, located in the Austrian Alps, as a “cradle of Europe’s industrialisation”: a progression of settlement and mining over 7000 years.

Visitors can explore the displays in the shape of huge „salt blocks“, i.e atmospheric rooms, which provide ambient sounds, video projections, multimedia shows, computer animations – and historical on location-smellscapes.

For this show I´m providing –  in cooperation with German scent specialist Elke Kies from MagicBox – the Museum of Natural History (Vienna) with expertise, conceptual development and the exclusive creation of unique olfactory experiences: from the neolithic age up to 350 BC, from „untouched nature“ to the smell of „the global village“.

MARQ – Alicante/Spain [14.06.2013 - 31.01.2014]
WESTFÄLISCHES LANDESMUSEUM – Herne/Germany [23.08.2014 - 25.01.2015]
Staatliches Museum für Archäologie Sachsen [03.07.2015 - 03.01.2016]


Letztes Jahr in Jerusalem

Duftinstallation, Jüdisches Museum Hohenems

Jerusalem - Mahane Jehuda

Jerusalem – Mahane Jehuda Market

Smellscape / scent installation, 2015
Garden of the Jewish Museum, Hohenems
(In cooperation with the On-Site Art Festival)

With his smellscape Paul Divjak is stepping into an olfactory dialogue with the current exhibition at the Jewish Museum: „A Streetcar Named Desired“, which takes the visitors on a reflective journey through Jerusalem by following the route of tram number 1, crossing and connecting the various „Jerusalems“.
In „L´année dernière à Jersualem“ the artist is describing a stroll through the city of Jerusalem. Subjective memories concerning the sense of smell enfold a assiciative and symbolic bouquet of the Holy city, center of three religions. Such evoking the aura of the very place of different cultures.
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