What is Synthetic

While much of today's immersive media claims to be “multi-sensory,” in actuality most such works have only audio and visual sensory cues. Scent, a powerful human modality that helps us to understand and derive meaning from the world, is often overlooked. However, scent in the service of art has a long and rich history, especially looking back to its ancient uses in establishing power, mystery, or memorability within religious or political domains. Early attempts at incorporating scent into artistic performances were not well received, perhaps due to inadequate technology of the time. Today a renaissance of olfactory art points to broader acceptance and appreciation of scent in artistic productions. Many artists are taking on the mantle of scent today, and the authors look forward to its increasing application in many forms of immersive media.