This public program of Tan Jing's exhibition Inlet of Arid Dreams explores "olfactory memory." The artist Tan Jing is fascinated by the sense of smell, which is often neglected. But its hidden memories can endure for a long time, and even the faintest odours seem to evoke a person's nostalgia. In this event, the audience strolls through the streets of Shanghai under the guidance of Professor Tang Weijie from Tongji University, following this sensory trail to capture the identities of the modern urban landscape.
The exploration of smells in modern cities can be traced back to the late 18th to mid-19th centuries. With the prosperity of modern industry and the rapid increase in urban populations, odours, in their undesirable aspects, became a prominent theme in urban life, shaping media reports and even literary materials. However, smells also serve as a crucial source of memory and self-affirmation for every urban resident and modern individual. Marcel Proust's "Madeleine cookies" in In Search of Lost Time (À la recherche du temps perdu) is undoubtedly one of the most exquisite expressions in olfactory literature. As the first-person narrator wracks his brain, the taste and scent of the tea mixed with the crumbs of the cookie evoke the memories of days gone by, filling him with a precious essence.
In the contemporary perspective of sensory anthropology, the sense of smell is a powerful form of perception, different from our daily cognition. People often pay little attention to the smells around them, as human memory tends to be more visually oriented. Our perception of the city we inhabit is frequently shaped by what we see. This urban walk aims to use the olfactory dimension as an entry point, challenging the presupposition of visual centrism.
Shanghai, over its one hundred and eighty years of urbanization, has developed distinct "olfactory landscapes" corresponding to different historical periods. With the passage of time, the olfactory map of the city has undergone significant changes, witnessing the succession of different scent regions and types. Our "Olfactory Citywalk" carefully selects routes to show the complexity and uniqueness of Shanghai's urban olfactory landscapes.
（The text is edited on the basis of the Professor Tang's contributions.)
Route Information:
1. Meeting point: Line 10 and Line 4 Hailun Rd Station (Exit 5)
2. Zhexingli Vegetable Market
3. Dong Jiaxing Eatery
Jiaxing Cinema Theatre
Jiaxing Road Soya Bean Products Factory
Debi Old Foreign House (former Hongkou Ice Factory - Meat Factory Cold Storage)
1933 Old Yard (Works Bureau)
Huanwei Zhan Wharf
Shanghai General Hospital
4. Jinchao 8 Longtang
5. Zhapu Rd Gourmet Street
6. Destination: Rockbund Art Museum
Text Recitation:
Participants are encouraged to bring olfactory-related texts (in any language) to recite and share during the citywalk.
Guest Information:
Tang Weijie, associate Professor and Master's Supervisor at the School of Humanities, Tongji University; Vice President of the Shanghai Film Critics Society, adjudicator for the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF). His research interests include comparative poetics, modern literature, urban cultural studies and urban history, visual culture studies, and film history.
“谭婧：旱梦滩”展览的公共项目将探访“嗅觉记忆”。艺术家谭婧着迷于嗅觉这种知觉形式：虽然常被忽略，其蕴藏的记忆却能持久留存，而不论多么微弱的气味似乎都能唤起一个人的全部乡思。在本次活动中，观众将在同济大学汤惟杰教授的带领下漫步上海街头，跟随这条感官线索捕捉城市中现代人的自我认同。
现代城市中对气味的探寻可以上溯到18世纪末至19世纪中叶。随着近代工业的繁荣和城市人口的激增，气味以其不堪的面貌成为城市生活的主题之一和媒体报道乃至文学的重要素材。然而，气味也是每一个城市居民、每一个现代人的记忆和自我确认的重要来源。普鲁斯特《追忆逝水年华》中的“小玛德兰点心”无疑是嗅觉文学中至为优美的表达。当第一人称叙事者绞尽脑汁，伴随那一匙沾了点心屑的茶水的滋味与气味的往日生活陡然浮现于脑际，“它使我充满一种宝贵的本质”。在当代感官人类学的视野中，嗅觉是强有力的感觉形式，这点不同于我们的日常认知。人们在多数情况下不太注意周遭的气味。的确，人类记忆和感觉的关系更多地在视觉上关联，我们对置身于其间的城市也往往凭藉目光来打量。本次城市行走则希望以嗅觉维度作为切入点，突破这种视觉中心主义预设。上海在其一百七八十年的城市化进程中形成了各个历史时期不同的“城市嗅景”。随着时间的推移，城市嗅景版图也发生了巨大变迁，不同的气味区域、气味类型都有更迭。我们的“嗅觉漫步”将选择适当的线路，以呈现上海城市嗅景的复杂和独特。（本段介绍基于嘉宾供稿编辑）
路线信息：
- 集合点：十号线、四号线海伦路站
- 浙兴里菜场
- 东嘉兴饮食店
- 嘉兴影剧院
- 嘉兴路豆制品厂
- 德必老洋行（原虹口制冰厂——肉联厂冷库）
- 1933老场坊（工部局）
- 环卫站码头
- 第一人民医院（儿科）
- 今潮8弄
- 乍浦路美食街
- 终点：上海外滩美术馆
文本诵读：参与者可自备嗅觉相关的文本（语言不限），在嗅觉漫步过程中诵读、分享。
嘉宾介绍：
汤惟杰，同济大学人文学院副教授，硕士生导师；上海电影评论学会副会长，上海国际电影节（SIFF）选片人。研究领域：比较诗学，现代文学，都市文化研究与城市史，视觉文化研究与电影史。