schmerzh

Schmerzh – An olfactory art intervention for the culture of remembrance

"Pain has no language in our society," says artist Olivia Wiederkehr – and makes precisely this state of affairs the starting point for her intervention Schmerzh. In collaboration with Zurich perfumer Andreas Wilhelm and the agency Live Lab, she has developed a scent memorial that makes collective, often repressed pain not visible, but smellable.

The installation explores the connection between smell, memory and emotion. Because scents are processed directly in the limbic system – where feelings and memories are stored – the sense of smell provides immediate access to deep-seated experiences. Schmerzh transfers this individual memory to the collective memory of the city of Zurich.

In autumn 2024, the scent was released at six public locations in Zurich. The aim was not to mark specific historical events, but to use urban space as a resonating body: the city itself becomes an actor – unprocessed events begin to "ferment" and "burp". The scent rises from its "pores" – the sewer shafts – to the surface.

The belching occurs in socially dense places where people meet. Not because specific traumas are located there, but because it is precisely here that the possibility of dialogue exists. The scent refers to the unresolved – to memories tinged with pain or shame for which there are (as yet) no words. In this way, interstices of memory, perception and speech emerge in everyday urban life.

Schmerzh was created as part of a project by the Fachstelle Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (KiöR), which deals with contemporary forms of monument culture. It is not only about the "what" or "who" of memory, but also about the "how." Artistic practice can transform social experiences into collective memory.

Instead of a visible monument, an ephemeral moment was created: memory as a dynamic process that must be renegotiated again and again. "We live in a society with a generalised fear of pain. Exposing oneself to this pain requires courage – and words to give voice to the speechlessness that arises from the suppression of pain."

Schmerzh was also released as a signed fragrance edition in 50 ml bottles. The packaging features a graphic representation of the floor plans of the six locations where the fragrance was diffused. The limited edition of 300 pieces can be purchased directly from the artist: olivia@oh-wiederkehr.ch

Schmerz has won Silver in the category «spacial Experience» at the ADC Awards 2025 in Hamburg and was finalist  in the Category «Experimental» at the 2025 Art and Olfactorial Awards in Los Angeles (USA)