“Words cannot describe this”, says artist Peter de Cupere after his walk through the Mechelse Heide. His description of his “scent hike” uses such words of praise as: powerful, pure, warm, recharge and romantic. “Why a scent hike?”, I hear you ask. Peter has been a visual artist and perfumier for over 20 years. He uses scent as his medium for installations, designs, and inventions. In the words of Peter: “I paint with scents.”
“A short hour of walking and smelling here, and I am full of energy again.” It’s Peter’s first time amongst the heather flowers. Despite the international laurels and accolades he has gained, de Cupere always succumbs to childlike amazement when encountering new places, and, more specifically, new scent compositions. “Crazy that this is only a half-hour drive from Hasselt. Suddenly you’re on holiday, in an oasis of unique scents.”
“The amount of new scents and compositions surprises you. Not just the scent of heather, which is of course the central theme throughout the walk, but also ferns, beech trees, oak trees, even the water of the Meuse river contributes to the overall perfume of the heathland.” Peter describes his trip through the heathland like a perfume. A composition of top notes, heart notes and base notes. “Each flower, plant and tree has its own set of scent molecules, which together form a composition. Experience them together and they form ‘the perfume’. Like with a perfume, the scent evolves as you walk along.
The top notes are the very fresh, volatile, floral scents. The heart notes are more spicey, and the base notes are the woody, earthy scents you detect from the trees and their bark.”
Peter’s introduction to the Mechelse Heide is not simply for his own pleasure, he’s on a mission.
Commissioned by Maasmechelen, Peter is starting to compose “the heathland perfume”: an invitation to create an ode to the heathland. What will it smell like? Peter is not yet completely sure. “The perfume will not just comprise heather flower. I want it to encapsulate the story of the walk that you experience. On my walk, I encountered one composition after another. It evolved. The flowers of the heather gave me a very happy, warm feeling; and the ferns, water, woods and shady places contributed fresh notes. I noticed myself relaxing during the walk. You suddenly start walking slower. Pure reinvigoration, and a feeling of inner peace. I got back, and thought: I want to smell this every day.”
The effect of such scents, of making you go inwards, is something we all recognise. Where does it come from? “That’s called the Proust effect. Our sense of smell is very closely linked to the limbic system in our brain. More than any other sense, scent opens doors to instants, memories and feelings. They work together. It’s the nostalgia that grabs us this way. That’s why I want to involve the people of Maasmechelen in the development of this perfume. They know better than anyone else what this place can do to you.”
Using your nose very clearly enriches our experience of nature. How can we train our nose to recognise more scents, and expand our experience?
“That’s simple: really use your nose. Dare to get up close to things, and put your nose in them. We have evolved to stay high and keep a distance, but dare to get closer to the ground again. And don’t just put your nose into colourful flowers, put it close up to tree trunks, roots, soil and water. The more you smell things, the easier they are to recognise. Then it starts to be fun.”