"Nothing is more memorable than smell" (Diane Ackerman)

My grandparents lived in St Andrews throughout my childhood and young adult years. I therefore know the coastline, its various inlets and bays, in great detail and navigate them in my dreams. Maurice Halbwachs describes family memory as being inexorably intertwined with your emotional attachments to your kin. There is also a strong emotional connection to place through memory. 

I have drawn my memories of the smell of three distinct points on the St Andrews coast: the East Sands, the Harbour and Castle Sands. Beaches do not all smell the same, yes, there is a general coastal smell, but the nuances change depending on the geology, wind direction, human influence, flora and fauna. 

It is a challenge to translate smells into marks, to disassociate from the visuals of a place, but there is a freedom in taking a step back and really trying to sense the smell again. For example, the drawing 'Harbour' may visually resemble the rock pools at Castle Sands, but in olfactory terms, it is depicting the complicated deep pockets of smell in its waters and creels.