Maki Ueda

A Participatory Multispecies Environment of Chemical Signals

Exhibition Guide

We recommend reading this information after walking through the Olfactory Biome with your nose.

SCENT MAP

[A] Powder Puff Tree

MOTH 🦋 For you, its can function as a cue for a potential food source. Some Calliandra species are visited by hawkmoths.

BAT 🦇 For you, flowers of some Calliandra species can be a food source. Some species are pollinated by nectar-feeding bats.

HUMAN 👤 For you, it is a creamy sweet, floral scent. It is also associated with the tropical landscape of Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, where the artist lives.

[B] Thymol

MOTH 🦋 A warning or interference signal. Thymol has been shown to disrupt pheromone-mediated attraction in some moth species.

BAT 🦇 –

HUMAN 👤 For you, it can stimulate the trigeminal system and produce a mild cooling sensation.

[C] Isoamyl Acetate

MOTH 🦋 For you, this fruity odor may be a warning sign that bats could be nearby. Fruit-associated odors can indicate the presence of a potential food source—and therefore a potential predator.

BAT 🦇 For you, this can be a fruit-associated odor. Fruit bats have been shown to detect and discriminate isoamyl acetate and other volatile compounds found in fruit.

HUMAN 👤 For you, it is banana. Sweet, fruity, familiar—and edible.

[D] Coumarin

MOTH 🦋 For you, this is not necessarily an invitation. Coumarin can act as a deterrent to oviposition in some moths: “Do not lay your eggs here.”

BAT 🦇 –

HUMAN 👤 For you, it is sweet, powdery, and warm. It may evoke hay, vanilla, or cherry blossoms.

[E] Birch Tar EO

MOTH 🦋 For you, this odor may suggest fire or a disturbed environment. It is not a known moth-specific signal, but it can function as a warning of possible danger.

BAT 🦇 For you, smoke can be a warning sign of fire. Bats can detect smoke and may respond by becoming alert and escaping.

HUMAN 👤 For you, it is a smell that can suggest fire and danger.

Scent Map | Olfactory Biome | Maki Ueda

[F] Queen of the Night

MOTH 🦋 For you, this can signal a potential food source. But it may also mean that bats (your predator) could be nearby.

BAT 🦇 For you, this flower can be a nocturnal food source. Bats have been reported visiting Epiphyllum oxypetalum, although moth pollination is better documented.

HUMAN 👤 For you, it is powerful nocturnal floral-citrusy scent. It is also associated with the tropical landscape of Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, where the artist lives.

[G] cis-3 Hexenol

MOTH 🦋 For you, this green, crushed-leaf smell can tell you that a plant has been damaged. If you are a female looking for a place to lay your eggs, it may mean: “Someone is already eating here. This may not be a good place for my offspring.”

BAT 🦇 –

HUMAN 👤 For you, it smells like freshly cut grass. Green, crushed, alive.

PLANTS 🌱 For you, this can be a warning:“Someone nearby is being eaten.” Plants can detect green leaf volatiles released by damaged neighboring plants and activate or prime their own defenses.For you, it smells like freshly cut grass. Green, crushed, alive.

[H] Isoamyl Acetate (the same as ‘C’)

MOTH 🦋 For you, this fruity odor may be a warning sign that bats could be nearby. Fruit-associated odors can indicate the presence of a potential food source—and therefore a potential predator.

BAT 🦇 For you, this can be a fruit-associated odor. Fruit bats have been shown to detect and discriminate isoamyl acetate and other volatile compounds found in fruit.

HUMAN 👤 For you, it is banana. Sweet, fruity, familiar—and edible.

[I] Eugenol

MOTH 🦋 For you, this can be part of a floral signal. It may help you locate a flower that could provide food.

BAT 🦇 –

HUMAN 👤 For you, it smells of clove, spice, warmth, and perhaps dental products.

[J] Indol

MOTH 🦋 For you, this can be surprisingly attractive. Indole can attract hawkmoths to flowers and function as part of a floral signal.

BAT 🦇 –

HUMAN 👤 For you, at low concentrations it can smell like jasmine, white flowers, and sensual sweetness. At higher concentrations, it can smell fecal, decayed, or dirty.

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