Olfactory Art Keller is honored to present Ro Miller’s first solo exhibition, Soft Time, an exploration of the complex relationship between scent, time, and the human experience. Miller’s work questions conventional notions of domesticity by proposing novel ways to incorporate scent into our homes, moving beyond the simple dichotomy of scented/unscented.
The exhibition is a response to the concept of "Hard Time" – the rigid schedules, deadlines, and commitments that govern our lives. Miller challenges how these external pressures infiltrate our personal spaces, particularly the home, where respite and relaxation should prevail and proposes scent as a counterpoint to this relentless forward momentum. The four new multisensory works on display demonstrate how controlled scent distribution can soften the edges of time by creating a more fluid and relaxed experience. They serve as tools to cultivate a deeper connection between individuals and their surroundings by offering new possibilities for how we inhabit and experience our living spaces.
Miller embraces a style of olfactory art that treats scents conceptually rather than materially, allowing the art form to move beyond the traditional olfactory task of representing something. Instead, the audience is asked to consider the medium of scent and the way we interact with it and let it alter our perception of the world around us.
At the center of Soft Time is 3 Steam, a sculpture that uses scented water and heat to create an olfactory way to mark the passing of time. To call it a scent clock feels wrong. Instead, in line with the exhibition's embrace of a loose relationship with time, 3 Steam is more concerned with experience than precision.
