"Arpa, the Institute of Synesthesia, is a research project exploring the sensory basis of consciousness and the sense-blending potential, such as the flavor or light. At Arpa, fragrance transcends ordinary observation, offering an experimental and ritual pathway into synesthesia, phytohormonal sentience, and wider perceptual awareness. We experience the future of fragrance with all of our senses: you will be able to listen to the scent.

SYNESTHESIA:

1. Synesthesia: noun-biology: secondary or associated sensation that is produced in one part of the body by a stimulus on another part.
2. Synesthesia: noun-psychology: the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body.
3. Synesthesia: a spontaneous joining in which the information received in one sense is accompanied by a perception in another sense. Simultaneous perception of multiple stimuli in one experience. A blending or intermingling of different sense modalities.

By creating a shared instant, perfume is a weapon and a courteous gesture. lt's a powerful addiction to concentrated attention, as breath becomes its own form of observation in a space filled with latent details. Scent is present in everything. Sampling from the past and the future, becoming organic in its construction and leaving space for imagination. At Arpa, we work with the purest natural materials. Listen to them to elicit transmissions from extra-sentient wavelengths; to eschew a future of artificiality in favor of joyful poetry. Everything that we're doing in perfumery is visual and related to our own synesthesia, to convey not just a memory but a texture. We're always running after a blurry image that becomes more focused with time. Aromas are thought of as multivalent sensorial detonators; therefore, the approach to scent blending is rather than the traditional "evoke memory." At Arpa, we evoke futuristic sensations, as the perfumes do not only smell but can be touched and heard at the same time, provoking an organoleptic experience on the observer, or in this case, the smeller. To better approach all senses at the same time, each fragrance is accompanied by a set of tokens, tangible and not, such as photographs, musical pieces, and sculptures.

Arpa draws inspiration from the first synthesizer frequencies and takes this experimental approach to modularity at Arpa. We produce modular sequences of seven fragrances, resisting ordinary boundaries of experience. The fragrances reflect a vital interconnectedness and a fluid space in which elements come into correspondence. The seventh release of each sequence is Matter, a substance that exists in all the fragrances that came before it, the elemental base that connects and intensifies the preceding constituents." – Arpa Studios

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