


Smell Words
Describing a smell is an act of imagination. Smell Words is a place to begin.
We lament that our vocabulary to describe scent is finite. Compared to the rich language we have for sight, sound, and touch, smell is sadly bereft. “The mute sense,” Diane Ackerman calls it. “The one without words.”
Our words for scent are stolen from other senses. We rely upon the language of flavor, texture, landscapes, and weather. We talk about smells as though they are art and music, or mood, or place. And so they are.
Smell Words gathers 384 terms, expanding upon the 2020 Ex Libris Odoratis risograph zine. In this new full-color edition, scent enthusiasts and writers Aubrey Gurtovenko and Noele Lusano continue their curation of evocative language – some words directly tied to scent, others reaching through metaphor.
Each book is accompanied by three scent strips misted with limited edition perfumes by Aubrey Gurtovenko, Donna Lipowitz, and Josh Zimmerman.
Details:
First printing, edition of 100
28 pages, full-color, pocket-sized booklet with french flaps
Ships with three custom scent strips
Printed by Conveyor Studio
Describing a smell is an act of imagination. Smell Words is a place to begin.
We lament that our vocabulary to describe scent is finite. Compared to the rich language we have for sight, sound, and touch, smell is sadly bereft. “The mute sense,” Diane Ackerman calls it. “The one without words.”
Our words for scent are stolen from other senses. We rely upon the language of flavor, texture, landscapes, and weather. We talk about smells as though they are art and music, or mood, or place. And so they are.
Smell Words gathers 384 terms, expanding upon the 2020 Ex Libris Odoratis risograph zine. In this new full-color edition, scent enthusiasts and writers Aubrey Gurtovenko and Noele Lusano continue their curation of evocative language – some words directly tied to scent, others reaching through metaphor.
Each book is accompanied by three scent strips misted with limited edition perfumes by Aubrey Gurtovenko, Donna Lipowitz, and Josh Zimmerman.
Details:
First printing, edition of 100
28 pages, full-color, pocket-sized booklet with french flaps
Ships with three custom scent strips
Printed by Conveyor Studio