SMELLS LIKE HOME
2024
Smells Like Home is an immersive installation that delves into the rich tapestry of immigrant and newcomer experiences in Toronto, centred around the search for a grocery store that connects them to their roots. The project reimagines the multi-ethnic grocery store as a museum space, wherein the installation magnifies these stores as vessels of memories, weaving connections to their homelands through the sights, smells, sounds, dialogue, and community.
The envisioned installation manifests as a small, navigable store, featuring carefully chosen objects—either Collected or Created—to showcase the profound impact of these stores on Toronto's cultural fabric. Grounded in thorough research and co-design, the artists engage the community through store visits, online surveys, and discussions to gather authentic insights on the immigrant experience.
Particular attention is given to material choices, such as cardboard boxes for display shelving, mirroring the durable and affordable displays typical of these stores. Transcending the surface of product and objects, the sensory journey—through touch, sound, visuals, and smell—seeks to explore immigrants’ multifaceted relationships to these spaces. Every individual detail in the installation underscores the significance of these stores to their communities, and the cultural landscape at large.
Ethnic grocery stores are socio-cultural landmarks in the journey of an immigrant which offer familiarity in a foreign land. By exploring these connections, the project bridges the distance between immigrants and their home countries, as well as across Toronto’s diverse communities. Visitors are invited to interact with an on-site bulletin board, encouraging reflection and sharing of personal experiences. Smells Like Home serves as a poignant reminder of the shared human experience, where the concept may differ across ethnic backgrounds, the essence remains a common pursuit of familiarity, community, and connection.
This was a collaborative project.
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Team Member: Rimaz Mohamed.
Programs Used: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, SolidWorks, and SolidWorks Visualize.
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Our proposed aesthetic for the installation:
Installation Renders:
Renders by Rimaz
COLLECTED & CREATED
Journeying through this installation, audiences embark on a sensorial exploration of a multi-ethnic grocery store, connecting with products that reveal unique cultural facets and foster cross-cultural bonds. The engagement unfolds through active reflection and passive introspection. By engaging with the installation, users delve into the history and cultural significance of each exhibited item, prompting internal reflection on their daily interactions with these objects. Mindful of sensory concerns, the installation balances its displays for an inclusive experience, underscoring that these stores transcend commerce, embodying sites of connection, language, cultural exchange, knowledge-sharing, and opportunity.
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The pieces to the left reflect some of these objects that despite being ordinary and commonplace, hold significant cultural ties and connections.
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The pieces below are objects that were created specifically for this project and are a culmination of research and cultural exploration into the sensorial memories cherished by immigrants from their home countries. Designed to evoke memories, connection, and dialogue, these pieces serve as tangible artifacts reflecting shared experiences across diverse communities and cultures.
To develop the concept further, the coffee pouch was modelled using SolidWorks and SolidWorks Visualize, from which the following renders and dieline were generated. The dieline output was then used as a template for the paper prototype, used to demonstrated the project concept within physical space.
