Like humans, trees and plants have their individual scent. One Tree ID condenses the olfactive identity of a specific tree into a complex perfume which enables human visitors to apprehend the tree’s communication system at a biochemical level. By applying the perfume, the visitors do not only invisibly wear characteristics of the tree next to them, they also use parts of its communication system and possibly have a conversation that – although invisible and inaudible by nature – takes place at the biochemical level and thus in the way plants exchange information. The artist aims at creating empathy and suggests an exploration of how to question the way we use our senses to generate new connections and interactions between species. In this sense, the One Tree ID’s fragrances offer alternative ways of exchanging information with the plant kingdom which human existence ultimately depends on.
Making off the perfume more info here
The piece is based on the fact that plants emit and communicate via Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) – gases and molecules that contribute to cloud formation which we recognise as the fragrance of a forest. These emissions are very specific for each individual plant. Each tree generates its own cloud. The roots and its bacteria, the tree stem and needles emit different VOCs which have been measured separately by Meyer-Brandis and her scientific partners. For the perfumes on display, the artist has collaborated with a professional perfumer to smell the tree, compare the collected machine data with the nose data which resulted in the creation of “Cloud of the Roots,” “Cloud of the Tree Stem,” and “Cloud of the Tree Crown”. The combination of all three fragrances created the synthesis of a singular One Tree ID perfume.
