Yidan Kim | Olfactory Sculpture and Contemporary Installation Art

Yidan Kim is a London-based contemporary artist whose practice focuses on the expansion of sensory perception through olfactory art and sculpture. A 2024 graduate of the Royal College of Art with an MA in Sculpture, Yidan Kim utilizes scents and tangible materials to explore the relationship between humans and their environments. Her research is deeply rooted in 'Hyang-do', a traditional East Asian fragrance culture, which she integrates with modern incense-making techniques and fragrance oil perfumery. Yidan Kim's work often challenges the traditional hierarchy of senses by elevating the importance of smell, which she believes has been historically undervalued. Notable projects such as 'Fluid' (2024) and 'The Gate' (2024) demonstrate her ability to manifest intangible concepts like air and gas through olfactory imagery. In 'Human Nosework Training' (2020), Yidan Kim invited viewers to engage their sense of smell in unconventional ways, using 'smell-balls' to navigate physical spaces. Collaboration is also a key aspect of her practice, as seen in the 2021 performance 'Ecology of Death and Annihilation,' created with sound artist Haedong Lee. This work reinterpreted ritualistic ceremonies through a synesthetic lens, combining auditory and olfactory elements to reflect on the cycle of life and decay. By shifting the human-centric perspective to that of non-human entities and non-material objects, Yidan Kim provokes a deeper cognitive engagement with the invisible forces that shape human experience. Her portfolio includes diverse series such as 'Olfaction-Oriented Objects' (OOO) and 'Olfactory Observation' (OO), which continue to push the boundaries of contemporary sculpture and sensory installation.