In this practice-based Ph.D. thesis, a new theoretical framework for examining the olfactory social sculpture World Sensorium (Nalls 1999/2000) is applied which establishes the fields of Olfactory Art, Olfactory Aesthetics, and Olfactory Art Informatics. The case study begins with an examination of historical aesthetic theory (influenced by Kant and Adomo) and a discussion of the philosophical influences of Joseph Beuys (Social Sculpture) and Marshall McLuhan (Mass Communication), and posits World Sensorium in a new contextual basis for understanding the relationship of the human brain and the environment: the meaning and impact of aesthetics, phytogenics, human memory and culture. The work draws upon artistic practice (characterised by interpretive analysis) and scientific (or positivistic) methods, in defirting the relationship between botanical scent and cultural identity. This thesis locates its main argument and evidence base in the field of art,, with four major overlapping disciplines: e. g., Olfactory Art, related to Olfactory Science (including Behavioural and Evolutionary Sciences); Neuro-aesthetics, related to Neuroscience; the Philosophy of Aesthetics; and Social Sculpture, as drawn from Art and Cultural Studies. The work of more than 35 contemporary artists who have made distinctive Olfactory Art is presented as a set of contextualising examples, within an examination of key scientific research in a broad range of sub-disciplines including psychology, neuroscience, behavioural and evolution studies, media ecology, and anthropology, as well as the new field of neuro-aesthetics. It is argued that there is a molecular relationship, of primordial origin, that birthed both the environment and the landscape architecture of the human mind-that the mind and the environment are one ecosystem. The thesis concludes by exploring the implications of the findings in relation to the future of Olfactory Informatics, and in particular, to the potential ubiquitous technological (mobile and Web-based) disbursement of synthetic scent.

The research explores Donald Judd's concept of Specific Objects, and how the notion of singular qualities, so essential to the concept, can be extended through the practice of sculpture. According to Judd, unity can only be achieved in sculpture when its form is specific and has only one quality. There must therefore be no apparent parts, no hierarchy and, therefore no relationships of parts. In addition, Specific Objects rejects illusion. The sculptor Robert Morris further defined singular qualities as those which predominantly distinguish 'good form', thereby positioning it within the syntax of Gestalt psychology. Significant though Judd's sculptures are, few seem to conform to his definition of Specific Objects because through his use of orthogonal geometry and contrast of materials, many of his sculptures do indeed appear not only to be composed of parts, but actually rely on the relationships between the parts. In addition, the contrast of opaque and transparent surfaces, inevitably leads to illusion. Rather than follow Judd's use of orthogonal geometries from parts of differing materials and colours, this research has investigated the potential of circular geometry to create form of sculptural significance within Judd's strict definition of Specific Objects. Key to this research has been what Rosalind Krauss described as the deflection of geometry, of which there are two types: one is based on actual variations in physical geometry and the second results from the illusory qualities of materials and surface finishes. The studio investigations sought to ascertain to what extent the 'deflection of geometry'can expand, but equally as importantly, maintain the viability of Judd's concept. In other words, the challenge was to extend the possible range of geometries that posses the singular qualities associated with Specific Objects; and in so doing provide an alternative response to the dilemma posed by the concept; how to make unified forms with variation and sculptural significance. The studio investigations were project based. Each project was directed by its aims and the resulting studies evaluated through criteria in which unity and singular qualities were fundamental. A reductive approach to studio investigation led to two forms that conclude the research. The unified geometry of the first is elliptical, although visual tension derives from the rotation of the internal ellipse relative to its external counterpart, whereas the second form contains the implied division of an internal figure of eight derivative within an elliptical exterior. Both forms were cast in translucent resins to combine illusory and physical deflections of their geometry. By so doing, they expand Judd's concept, by demonstrating the potential for implied duality and perceived variance to exist within a singular, unified, and specific form.