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ABSTRACT
Smell and taste are strong inducers of autobiographical and collective memories. Marcel Proust described a now famous taste memory almost a century ago. The main character in A la recherche du temps perdu suddenly gets transported back in time when tasting a madeleine cake dipped in lime tea. The flavor enables him to vividly relive moments long forgotten. According to Proust, consciously recalling an event by means of language or simply looking at the same object would not have had the same effect. What he understood intuitively is currently being explored by a growing number of artists and neuropsychologists. This article discusses two matters: (1) What are sense memories? (2) How are sense memories different from memories evoked by language? The analysis of works of art and scientific experiments with the closely linked senses of smell and taste demonstrate social, emotional, and aesthetic values. Finally, we reflect on the practical dimension of olfactory memory in society. Over the past decade interdisciplinary artists have increasingly been engaged in educational and care projects using the sense of smell. They appear to take a leading role in successfully applying the sense of olfaction in education and well-being.