Nalls Studio is Pleased to Announce the Limited Edition Experience of olfactory inkblot_1

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Jan 05, 2010, 10:02 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Nalls Studio announces the release of olfactory inkblot_1, the first in the new olfactory inkblot series by artist Gayil Nalls. The olfactory inkblots are limited edition multiples, a series of interactive experiential works that asks the user to explore olfactory perception and their psychophysical response to natural smells.

olfactory inkblot_1 is staged in the everyday object of a candle. As an interactive artwork, participants are asked to engage with the natural scents carried in olfactory inkblot_1, and to respond to an Internet survey about their experience at www.olfactoryinkblot.com, thereby helping originate quantitative information about the nature of smell, which in turn becomes part of the work. The objective of the olfactory inkblot series is to provide distinctive and exceptional olfactory experiences with each new edition comprising various media, and generate additional physiological and behavioral information with each accompanying survey.

The series takes its name from the Rorschach inkblot psychological tests first used in the early 1920s, which were a visual diagnostic method for patients undergoing psychoanalysis to map their individual psyches. Similarly, the olfactory inkblot series draws attention to one's unique response to scents, as olfaction too can be used to assess and understand personal characteristics and emotions. Even though we continually navigate our lives using our sense of smell, our comprehension of this profound sense is lacking. Our world is saturated with aromas -- some beautiful, others offensive -- which are all part of a meticulous chemical notation system for which our noses carry receptors. Messages move instantly to the most primal part of the brain, where the encoding of evolution, environment and culture helps choreograph our feelings, emotions and memories. As scientist Lyall Watson has said, "We think because we smell."

To provide a beneficial, toxin free olfactory experience, olfactory inkblot_1 is made with pure therapeutic-grade essential oils, all-natural American soy wax, and pure cotton wicks. The botanical oils not only serve as emotional triggers, they are unusual in their level of naturally occurring therapeutic plant compounds that have powerful antimicrobial and antiviral properties. olfactory inkblot_1 is housed in a glass container 3 inches high, 3.5 inches in diameter, and burns for 40 to 60 hours.