Scented Stories

This project was a journey into the deep connection between scent, memory, and place. Growing up in a remote Alpine village in Italy, I found myself initially distancing from my roots. But as I started to revisit my past through scent, I was able to reconnect with those memories in a way that felt meaningful. The smells from my childhood—the musty scent of my uncle’s solitary home, the nostalgic presence of mothballs in my grandmother’s wardrobe, and the earthy aroma of Alpine cheese factories—came together to tell a story about belonging and identity. These smells became symbols of my complex relationship with my past, capturing the tension between where I come from and where I was headed. Whit this work I wanted to challenge the conventional idea of “wearing” objects. For me, wearing something isn't just about physically attaching it to your body—it’s also about the more intangible experiences, like scent, that evoke emotions and memories. Glycerine soap sculptures infused with specific scents provided the perfect medium to let viewers “wear” a story. As the soap is used and gradually disappears, it mirrors how memories fade, yet remain in us in a different form. The collection consisted of five soaps, each inspired by different scents connected to my heritage. These pieces were shown at a number of important events, including the Munich Jewellery Week, Gothenburg Craft Week, Stockholm Craft Week, and Gothenburg HDK Open Days. I’m incredibly thankful for the grant that made all of this possible. It allowed me to share these deeply personal stories and memories at such amazing events, reaching a broader audience and giving these smells and memories a space to live outside of my own experience.