Martynka Wawrzyniak

Although best recognized for Smell Me (2012)—an installation wherein the artist hired a team of scientists to concoct a fragrance capturing her biological essence—Martynka Wawrzyniak works across diverse media including photography, video installation, and performance. Inspired by the smelly buses of her childhood in Poland, Wawrzyniak is concerned with the ways in which scents influence human behavior. "In today's society we do everything we can to mask the natural scent of our bodies," Wawrzyniak has said. “I wanted to isolate these primal human essences and deliver them in an environment devoid of other sensual distractions. The piece [Smell Me] represents the true essence of a woman—free of visual prejudice.”