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A C C E S S O R I E S 
Nicholas Oen | Wong Yi Ting

When Nicholas and I got paired for this project, we didn’t know what direction to take at first. However, after planning it out with a few mind maps, our fashion accessories started to take shape.

So, firstly, we had to think of what constitutes the good and bad memories. For mine, the good memory was the smell of copic markers, while the bad memories were the smell of surgical gloves. For Nicholas, it was the smell of alcohol that gave him bad memories, whereas the smell of cigarettes was good. Through mind mapping, we realized two of our smells had something in common. The smell of copic markers and the smell of alcohol. Because copic markers are alcohol-based.

We settled on making a pendant and a bracelet, thinking it  was most suitable for incorporating the characteristics and imagery of the scents and memories.

Firstly, the pendant. The pendant represents the smell of alcohol. The idea is that the smell of alcohol lingers around with the person drinking, therefore, we wanted it to be hanging around the neck, mirroring the scent. Also, we used curved and broken planes in order to construct this pendant. This inside spinning shell and the rigid outer layer cause an almost dizzying effect on anyone who looks at it; like the state of intoxication. Furthermore, the inner piece seems to be “floating” in the centre, thus adding on to the lingering smell that alcohol has when one goes to drink.

The pendant also looks heavy, and the outer layer seems to make it look very metallic and inorganic to many. This corresponds with the idea that alcohol smell is actually very strong and is weighty. Moreover, if you notice, the inside piece is painted with a glow-in-the-dark paint. This is supposed to signify the hidden element of the pendant. Because alcohol lasts to stink the drinker even after the drinking is done, the glow in the dark paint only appears when the light is turned off. In comparison, the paint is always there but people only can see it when the light is off. Thus, this pendant is a representation of both the smell of alcohol and the bad memories it gives.

Now, the bracelet. The bracelet represents the smell of copic markers, and is a good memory for me. Why we wanted to do a bracelet is because the smell of copic markers are very light, and usually bracelets are light as they are worn on the hand day in and out. Also, the material used in both pieces are the same. This is because we wanted to show the similarities of both with the alcohol component. However, because one is a good memory whereas the other one is bad, we added an extra component into the bracelet.

The curved plane that seems to be swiftly sticking out in a curved motion represents the fast and light effect that the copic marker’s smell has on the person. That, and the plastic broken planes which break away in a separate direction, only emphasises this sudden whiff of copic marker. And, the transparency of the plastic contrasts the dark opaque wire used to make the effect stand out even more.

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R E S E A R C H

MNEMOSYNE: Greek Goddess of Memory, name stemming from the word mnemonic.

SCENTS

Our sense of smell derives from the olfactory system, which consists of organs and parts that are also part of our chemosensory system. Important parts are the nose, nasal cavity, olfactory epithelium and the limbic system of the brain.  

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Just to break it down simply:

  1. First you inhale through your nose, taking in the aromatic substances. The molecules will then pass through, the nasal cavity filtering the substances.
  2. At the back of the nasal cavity is the olfactory epithelium where it holds olfactory receptor cells that are special neurons that sense smell. The molecules get stuck in the mucus and bond with the receptor cells, sending signals via the olfactory duct and to the brain.
  3. The signals get sent directly to the amygdala, thalamus and then neocortex – this is the limbic system, the part that specialises in memory, learning, emotions.
  4. As smell affects the body in numerous ways, the body then reacts according to the emotion or memory triggered by the scent, for example: the need to fight-or-flight.

Important to note! Our sense of smell is intimately related to memories as we end up connecting new scents with older ones – either with familiarity or contrasts. Such memories come along with different sets of emotions, which in turns affects how the smell feels to someone.

P R O C E S S
P L A N A R   M O D E L S
 RED: Dominant
BLUE: Sub-dominant
GREEN: Subordinate



For the 1st sketch model, most of the mass stays close to the base. I did some tapering to the dominant, to make it look like its ‘fading’ away into the distance from an angle. The subordinate contrasts with the other two planes as it’s a simple short flat plane with no curvature or bends. The sub-dominant also brings forth a spike of motion, a point of visual interest as it looks as if it’s piercing upwards energetically.

As for the 2nd sketch model, it has more verticality compared to the 1st one. There is also more twisted places, creating more spirals. The dominant here twists in a big spiral, resulting in a spacious void right in the middle of the profile view. The sub-dominant contrasts by being drastically thinner and longer as it stretches high and pierces itself into the dominant. The subordinate is added two-thirds on the sub-dominant for bonus visual interest.

B O T T L E   S C U L P T U R E

We had to base our sculpture off 2 personally significant scents – 1 attached to a pleasant memory, 1 attached to an unpleasant memory. After some consideration, I decided on these scents: Copic Markers as a pleasant memory and Surgical Gloves as an unpleasant memory.