Response to the book A Natural History of The Senses, Student Work

Smell, Rachel DeCuba
"I chose to respond to the chapter on the sense of smell. While reading the portion about smell that is naturally based and those created through chemical manipulation and our connection to certain scents I began to think of the historical connections I hold with scents. I connected this with the book 100 years of solitude, a book of latin realism, in this genre of literature there is emphasis on the senses and I wanted to illustrate this connection of illustrated smell and traditional uses. I created oils of rosemary, lavender and sage, traditional smells in the latin culture with a range of perceptions. I placed these into small jars that fit into a folding wooden traveling case, to resemble that of traveling gypsies that would traditionally sell these goods from village to village."

Taste, Tristan Dollinger

Synesthesia, Chryssha Guirdy.
For entire series of photos go to Chryssha's blog.
Link here.

Hearing, Brittany Higgins
"I explored the effects of what certain noises can have on people. Whether scary noises, thrilling noises, sensual noises, or exciting noises people cannot help but have a response. For my project I wanted to push sensual noises and see how people would react. I chose to set up a situation where the a person could listen to sound, but nobody could see the peron's face, only their body.  I asked  people to wear earbuds and put a box over their head.  Once the person was in position, I played sounds of individuals engaging in sexual acts. The result was a performance made by the person listening to the sounds as those present observed body reactions and seemed to gain excitement in not knowing what the person was listening to.  This excitement created a line of people to take part in the experiment."