project overview
"We live submerged at the bottom of the ocean of air"
[Evangelista Torricelli, 1644]
Have you ever asked yourself:
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A SINGLE BREATH?
BREATH* IS A CHEMICAL CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE ANIMAL AND PLANT KINGDOMS
neon
oxygen
nitrogen
hydrogen
carbon dioxide
Plants, algae and some bacteria produce oxygen, a key part of the air, through photosynthesis. Animals exhale carbon dioxide, which plants use along with sunlight to create food and oxygen. Respiration provides living organisms with the energy they need to live and grow.
Forests provide timber and many other resources that are extracted, processed, and often discarded in short cycles. But their most essential contribution is the air that countless living species depend on—not only oxygen, but also cooler temperatures, carbon storage, cleaner air, scents, and the atmospheres that shape our everyday existence.
SO WHAT?
PLANT AS
a resource
air
scents
senses
a living being
multispecies
ecosystems
cohabitation
​
an interlocutor
chemical conversation
between species
is storytelling
​
The air we breathe is invisible, which makes it harder to put a value on.
Yet in the context of global warming, air pollution, biodiversity loss, and rising respiratory illness, it can no longer remain unseen.
AuraForest exists to bring it back into our awareness: sensory, ecological, and emotional.
1. AuraForest is a design exploration into the multispecies world.
It’s a bio-geographical journey through the Scots pine environment, experienced through the scents of the tree and its surrounding organisms.
_edited_.png)
Around the Scots pine, a rich language of scent connects species. Pine needles release fresh, healing oils. Fungi decompose bark, adding earthy, humid notes. Soil bacteria contribute the familiar smell of rain-soaked earth. Then come the bark beetles, guided by pheromones. Each scent marks a stage in the cycle—health, decay, renewal, and survival.
​2. AuraForest is a story of rebuilding empathy between human and nonhuman
THE WARRIOR
scent of Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) Pinus sylvestris releases strong-smelling compounds like α-pinene and limonene not for us, but to protect itself. These scents act as signals, warning nearby trees, repelling harmful insects, and even attracting predators of pests. For the Scots pine, scent is a tool—a way to defend, communicate, and stay connected to the forest.
sensory tone resinous herbal fresh earthy woody camphorous moist deep sharp crisp
THE SOIL AFTER RAIN
scent of bacteria Actinomycete Streptomyces bacteria make the fresh, earthy smell you notice after rain. They release special scents called geosmin and 2-MIB when they make tiny seeds called spores. Spores help bacteria survive and spread. These smells attract tiny soil bugs called springtails, which eat the bacteria and carry their spores to new places.
sensory tone earthy musty fresh moist deep slightly sweet resinous warm
THE OLD BOOK
scent of Lignin Lignin, found in wood and bark, releases smell-causing chemicals like phenol and vanillin. When wood heats up, breaks down, or burns, it releases smoky scents such as guaiacol. Humidity and warmth help these smells spread more easily. These natural scents shape the atmosphere of forests and affect the air around wood products.
sensory tone earthy sweet dimmed smoky powdery warm resinous woody deep
ROMANCE
scent of fungus Stropharia rugosoannulata (wine cap mushroom) The wine cap mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata) releases its earthy, mushroom-like, and grassy smell through natural chemicals like 1-octen-3-ol and hexanal that evaporate from its tissues. When fresh, these compounds create strong soil and grass scents; as the mushroom dries or heats, the scent changes to softer, malty, or burnt notes. This aroma attracts insects such as nematodes and bees, helping the mushroom spread its spores and form ecological connections for survival.
sensory tone earthy mushroom-like grassy fresh malty (when dried or heated) slightly burnt (when dried or heated) natural rich
STATUS
scent of Dendroctonus valens (bark beetle) The bark beetle Dendroctonus valens uses both sound and chemical signals to control how many beetles gather on a tree. It starts by attacking weak trees in small numbers without killing them. When targeting healthy trees, it releases a chemical called frontalin to attract many beetles for a mass attack. This clever mix of sounds and smells lets the beetle switch between small, gentle attacks and large, aggressive ones.
sensory tone sharp pine-like resinous woody fresh slightly sweet musky
This synesthetic library of digital scents was created to bring other species into focus, shining a light on them as living beings—beyond resources or simple binaries like human versus nature. It reveals their communication and uses human senses to bring us closer, reminding us we are all part of the same living, breathing, fighting and caring organism.
3. AuraForest is a digital provocation—a library of potential loss and a question mark on the future, on extremes, on what is desirable versus what is scary. It asks the audience: What is the value of a single breath today, and what will it mean for your grandchildren? How do you measure it—by meters, pollutants, temperature, scents, or memories? Which scent will you carry through extreme isolation? Which scent will you preserve for future generations?
The Department of Culture for Breath, 2050
presents
A DIGITAL ARCHIVE OF MULTISPECIES SCENTS FROM NATIVE PINE FORESTS
At its core, AuraForest features five audio-video capsules that reveal the invisible biochemical conversations between plants, fungi, bacteria, and insects around the Scots Pine.
This digital collection—The Library of Scents—translates scents into audiovisual experiences to shine a light on other species as living beings, not just resources, and to provoke questions about our relationship with nature. It uses our senses to bring us closer, reminding us that we are all part of the same living, breathing, fighting and loving organism.
THE WARRIOR
the Scots pine’s (Pinus sylvestris) scents are warning and repelling
scent of Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) Pinus sylvestris releases strong-smelling compounds like α-pinene and limonene not for us, but to protect itself. These scents act as signals, warning nearby trees, repelling harmful insects, and even attracting predators of pests. For the Scots pine, scent is a tool—a way to defend, communicate, and stay connected to the forest.
sensory tone resinous herbal fresh earthy woody camphorous moist deep sharp crisp
THE SOIL AFTER RAIN
(Actinomycete)
soil bacteria’s
rain smell signals survival
scent of bacteria Actinomycete Streptomyces bacteria make the fresh, earthy smell you notice after rain. They release special scents called geosmin and 2-MIB when they make tiny seeds called spores. Spores help bacteria survive and spread. These smells attract tiny soil bugs called springtails, which eat the bacteria and carry their spores to new places.
sensory tone earthy musty fresh moist deep slightly sweet resinous warm
THE OLD BOOK
lignin’s smoky aroma signal ecological processes like decay
scent of Lignin Lignin, found in wood and bark, releases smell-causing chemicals like phenol and vanillin. When wood heats up, breaks down, or burns, it releases smoky scents such as guaiacol. Humidity and warmth help these smells spread more easily. These natural scents shape the atmosphere of forests and affect the air around wood products.
sensory tone earthy sweet dimmed smoky powdery warm resinous woody deep
ROMANCE
Wine cap mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata)
attracts allies and nurtures connection
scent of fungus Stropharia rugosoannulata (wine cap mushroom) The wine cap mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata) releases its earthy, mushroom-like, and grassy smell through natural chemicals like 1-octen-3-ol and hexanal that evaporate from its tissues. When fresh, these compounds create strong soil and grass scents; as the mushroom dries or heats, the scent changes to softer, malty, or burnt notes. This aroma attracts insects such as nematodes and bees, helping the mushroom spread its spores and form ecological connections for survival.
sensory tone earthy mushroom-like grassy fresh malty (when dried or heated) slightly burnt (when dried or heated) natural rich
STATUS
bark beetle (Dendroctonus valens)
coordinates attack and controls gathering
scent of Dendroctonus valens (bark beetle) The bark beetle Dendroctonus valens uses both sound and chemical signals to control how many beetles gather on a tree. It starts by attacking weak trees in small numbers without killing them. When targeting healthy trees, it releases a chemical called frontalin to attract many beetles for a mass attack. This clever mix of sounds and smells lets the beetle switch between small, gentle attacks and large, aggressive ones.
sensory tone sharp pine-like resinous woody fresh slightly sweet musky
By digitising something so deeply physical and sensual, AuraForest highlights loss and disconnection—contrasting the ephemeral nature of scent with its digital preservation to emphasise our fragile relationship with nature. In this way, AuraForest is a catalogue of potential loss: loss of breath, loss of smell, loss of species.
​
Through interdisciplinary research, AuraForest translates complex ecological processes into immersive narratives that reconnect people with the healing power of local nature—even remotely, even in the extremes.
​
By revealing the multispecies origins of the air we breathe, AuraForest invites reflection on how science and technology can support holistic health, fostering somatic empathy, valuing biodiversity, and reimagining future well-being as inseparable from planetary care.
​​​​
It proposes a series of video capsules representing scents produced by select organisms, catalogued as digital Library of Scents.
The digital archive communicates the diverse biogeography of the air created by organisms (plants, fungi, bacteria, insects) surrounding a single tree: the Scots Pine, highlighting the value of breath — and the importance of our sense of smell — by examining them within a digital vacuum.
AuraForest is a catalogue of potential loss: loss of breath, loss of smell, loss of species.