Scentsory
Rachel Saabor
Rachel Saabor’s Scentsory is a multisensory series of images and aromas that explore how smells are an unspoken trigger for victims of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. The work uncovers the stories of seven anonymous interviewees through large format prints; each depicts a hyper realistic reconstruction of the subject’s recollection accompanied by a smell that triggered that specific memory. The images and smells that she has created in this series are all highly fabricated. The process behind the visual imagery consisted of finding a subject and getting to know their story; carefully selecting individual locations and then employing her team of set designers, lighting assistants, and actors to construct a thoroughly detailed medium format image. Her pictures are then accompanied by the significant scent that triggered the defined memory. Each scent has been deliberately handcrafted to mimic the subject’s experience and invite the viewer to share that in that.
