Sissel Tolaas

Born 1961, Norway.
Lives in Berlin, Germany.

Walking around the city, we are constantly bombarded with sights and sounds – but also with scents and smells. We may take more notice of what our eyes and ears are telling us, but in fact our experience of the city is also built up from what our noses tell us. Artist/scientist Sissel Tolaas will conduct a unique experiment for International 06, working with local people and with a specialist in Scouse dialect to collect smells from the four quarters of the city and to develop a new vocabulary for describing them. Using the very latest scent-diffusion technology, Tolaas will give visitors to the FACT centre the once-in-a-lifetime chance to take home a limited edition of the smells of the city.

Selected Exhibitions and Projects since 2003

2007 Food 4 Stars, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo; Food 4 Stars 2006–2007 is travelling to Scandinavia, Russia and China
Luxembourg Capital Européenne de la Culture 2007, MIGRATION, art & fashion

2006 Metropolitanscape, Turin Palazzo Cavour, Turin, Italy
Talking Cities, Essen, Germany
Regionale 2006, Ruhrgebiet, Germany
Havana Biennale, Havana, Cuba
MIT, Boston, MA, USA
Mexico City and Yukatan 2006–2007, research projects with Rem Koolhaas
Sense Sensitive Design & Emotional Mapping 2006–2007, a research/art/architecture/design in the context of a healing environment, Charite Hospital, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
Archaeological Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2006–2007, integrating smells of historical importance in the context of the newly designed Archaeological Museum
Luxembourg Capital Européenne de la Culture 2006 (the research), 2007: MIGRATION, art & fashion

2005 3rd Tirana Biennale, Tirana, Albania
Hasselt Triennale, Hasselt, Belgium
Food 4 Stars, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
T(räume), Kestner Museum, Hanover, Germany; Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia
FIVE + Sensotel (The Future of Hotels), Zürich, Switerland; Dubai; Miami, USA; London, UK
FEAR GEAR, Roebling Hall, New York, USA
Food 4 Stars, Trevi Art Centre and the City of Bolzano, Bolzano, Austria
Calakmul Complex (with Rem Koolhaas), Mexico City, Mexico
Milk & Honey, Bread & Butter, Barcelona, Spain; Berlin, Germany
About Beauty, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany; Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Diamonds...Best Friend?, Johannesburg, South Africa; London, UK

2004 IFM (L’Institute Français de la Mode), Paris, France
Scent Systems, London, UK
Montpellier Dance Festival, cooperation with Sasha Waltz Dance Company
World Perfumers’ Congress, Cannes, France
Centre for Contemporary Art, Kitakyushu, Japan
NORTH, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany
3rd Berlin Biennale, Berlin, Germany
Mobile Museum, Berlin, Germany; Vienna, Austria; Barcelona, Spain; Tokyo, Japan; Los Angeles, USA
Nightingale Associates & PAL Foundation, London, UK
Fondation Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
FILES, MUSAC (The Museum of Contemporary Art), Leon, Spain
Established IFF research lab, Berlin, Germany, on smell/fragrance and communication, in January 2004, supported by IFF Inc., New York, USA

2003 Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
Aedes Gallery East, Berlin, Germany
kunstprojekte_riem: like it/like it not/like it, 2. Part, plus publication, Munich, Germany
like it/like it not/like it, Beautyspy, Munich, Germany; Goethe Institute, Rome, Italy; Space Science Research Institute, Milan, Italy; European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy
Salzburg Festival, co-production with Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Danish National orchestra, Vienna State Opera chorus, ZKM and Dr Gerd Albrecht, Salzburg, Austria.