Mapping the invisible and the ephemeral
- Submitting institution
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Canterbury Christ Church University
- Unit of assessment
- 34 - Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management
- Output identifier
- U34.012
- Type
- K - Design
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month
- -
- Year
- 2014
- URL
-
-
- Supplementary information
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-
- Request cross-referral to
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- Yes
- Number of additional authors
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0
- Research group(s)
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-
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- Mapping the invisible and the ephemeral focuses on how subjective urban olfactory experience might be broadly categorised and its ephemeral qualities represented. It comprises an animated map with three still images, a data visualisation, a research paper and a book chapter. Following previous work on the representation of the smellscape, McLean was commissioned by Mapamundistas (an annual visual arts festival in Pamplona, Spain) to conduct a practice-based research project into the contested and ephemeral aspects of Pamplona’s smellscape for the 2014 programme “Las consecuencias del mapa”, with funding provided to support the research process. The work extends McLean’s research and contributes to interdisciplinary discussion on olfactory data capture.
The practice-based research specifically addressed how map design might represent the ephemeral nature of olfactory space. First McLean used group smellwalking for data collection (building on previous practice) and trialled participatory crowd-sourcing of smell perceptions to generate ‘smellnote’ data sets. Through practice-based works McLean explored the notion of ‘lifespan’ of smell instances as visual metaphor for the ephemeral and contested nature of smell experience. The data and findings were used to support an interdisciplinary collaboration with a data science research group “Good City Life” (https://goodcitylife.org/smellymaps/project.php) resulting in a joint conference paper. A book chapter considered mapping practices in relation to models for remediating temporal, non-material data and proposed deployment of multiple perspectives alongside animation.
The resulting performative and participatory methodology of mapping smells brings a novel perspective to perception of the city. Additional original findings include new urban smellscape classification categories of "complex" and "emotion", further developing Henshaw's urban smell classification set out in Urban Smellscapes (Routledge,2013). The research demonstrates an interdisciplinary application and influence of practice; evidenced here in a co-authored, digital crowd-sourcing project for subjective smell data and subsequent creative mapping opportunities output as a conference paper.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -
