About

Beau Voerman: Artistic Researcher and Scent Designer

Beau is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Arts & Culture at the University of Amsterdam and has obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Crossmedia Design at the AKI ArtEZ University of the Arts. Beau explores the interplay between scent and sound and has initiated the project Molecular Oscillations, guiding the translation of the vibrational properties of specific odorants that have been sonified into an audible sound experience. 
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Denise Vonck: Chemistry Teacher
 
Denise Vonck is a chemistry teacher in adult secondary education (vavo) and has a background in chemistry, computer science, and education. She obtained her Master's degree in Science and Education at the Radboud University in Nijmegen. Within this project, Denise executed the ''chemical translation step'': translating scent molecules into corresponding frequencies audible to humans. For this, she used IR spectra from online databases and theory related to IR spectroscopy. Drawing from her expertise, she also helped to understand the underlying chemical principles behind the project.

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Johan Kooi: Musician and Composer
 
Johan Kooi is educated in sound design, with a Bachelor's degree in music composition. His work focuses on conceptual interdisciplinary practices, often in dialogue with contemporary theatre, dance, and visual (video) art. In this project, Johan translated molecular data derived from infrared spectral analysis into sound. The frequencies present in the data are rendered as sine waves and organized in a way that preserves their underlying relationships. His approach is to intervene as little as possible - shaping the material just enough to make it perceptible and coherent as sound, while staying close to the source. The result is an organic and listenable sonic form that reflects both the fragrance accord and the relative intensity relationships between the individual scent molecules, based on a perceptual mapping between intensity and volume.