mono.kultur is an interview magazine from Berlin. The current edition is dedicated to the Norwegian scent researcher Sissel Tolaas – a ‘professional provocateur’ as she describes herself. She has established a huge archive in Berlin with approximately 7,000 smells. What makes the magazine so special is that it includes 12 pages that you can rub and smell. With a special technique called microencapsulation the scents are literally printed into the magazine. I find this idea very interesting, but to be honest I cannot bear to read the magazine because the smells are not very pleasant at all… This magazine stinks… Or to use the words of Sissel Tolaas, “Smell provokes. And if it can provoke, then there is hope.“ I have to go and wash my hands right now and I hope to get this smell out of my nose again. ‘Agent Provocateur’ Sissel Tolaas has accomplished her mission.
