SISSEL TOLAAS
Professional In-Betweener

Sissel Tolaas was born in Norway and is based in Berlin. She studied mathematics, chemical science, languages, and visual art at Oslo, Warsaw, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Oxford Universities. Tolaas has focused on the topics of Smell / Smell & Language and Communication since 1990, within different sciences, fields of art/design and other disciplines. Tolaas established the SMELL RE_searchLab Berlin in January 2004, supported by IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.) Her research has won recognition through numerous national and international scholarships, honors, and prizes including the 2009 Rouse Foundation Award from Harvard University GSD, the 2010 ArsElectronica Award in Linz, Austria, and the 2010-2011-2012 Synthetic Aesthetics / Synthetic Biology Award from Stanford and Edinburgh Universities. Tolaas is recently a founding member of the International Sleep Science and Technology Association, China/US/Africa/Europe.

Tolaas has worked with numerous companies and institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, NY; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Fondation Cartier, Paris; Museum of Modern Art Berlin; Tate Gallery, Liverpool; Venice Biennale of Art, Architecture; National Art Museum of China Beijing; Documenta 13, Kassel. Her projects and research include collaborations with BBC London; Sony Computer Science Lab, Paris; IFF Inc. New York; Statoil New Energy Program, Norway; Charité Humboldt University Hospital, Berlin; Max Planck Institute, Berlin; Louis Vuitton, Paris; E. Lauder Paris/NY; KPMG (law) Berlin; BMG SONY, Germany; Showstudio/Nick Knight; Mercedes Benz Future Lab, Berlin; ADIDAS; Rockefeller Foundation, New York; Johnson & Johnson, New York; Bangalore High Tech Park; Deutsche Bank, Germany; San Francisco Neurosciences Institute; Humboldt University, Berlin; Tsinghua University, Beijing; Columbia University, New York; Parson The New School For Design, New York; Beijing Olympics; Vienna University; Oxford University; NESTA, London; MIT; Harvard University; Liverpool University; Oslo University; Moscow University; Stanford University; TU, Berlin; Toronto University; Lund University; Edinburgh University; Bangkok University; Hong Kong University; University of Michigan; Pasadena Art Centre; NASA; IEEE and others.

Tolaas has conducted SmellScape research in several cities including Mexico City, Havana, Paris, Stockholm, Nuuk, Berlin, Oslo and London, and is currently working on Calcutta, and Cape Town. She has been commissioned by the Harvard Graduate School of Design to do the smell of Kuwait for Kuwait's 1st ever contribution to Venice Biennale of Architecture, 2012.