RE_ — resilience, reclamation, rethinking… _DE — depression, deprivation, decentralisation… da_RE — change, experience, respect, sense…
2026 On view
Artist Sissel Tolaas
DetailsHistorical crate, replicated smell molecules, compressors (6 tubings), theater seats (indoor and outdoor); invisible archive of the disappearing city, sauna room and theater chairs, locker rooms
Curator Stefanie Hessler
Address
101 Chouteau Ave
St. Louis, MO
Site Description
Accessibility: A primary component of the artwork is a sculptural sauna, which visitors are invited to use as a space of connection, meditation, and sensory experience. You may bring your own towels, sandals, swimwear, or other personal items to make the experience comfortable. Lockers are provided, but visitors should bring their own locks. The sauna is ADA accessible.
Artwork Details
About the Artwork
Sissel Tolaas is an artist working across chemistry, linguistics, and smell research. For Counterpublic, Tolaas has created a three-part framework: RE_ (resilience, reclamation, rethinking), _DE (depression, deprivation, decentralization), and da_RE (dare to change, experience, respect, and sense). Through sensory intervention, the project seeks to recover hidden histories, reactivate suppressed pleasures, and re-center embodied experience within the city. The project includes a sauna and a Living Sensory Archive. Central to the project is a painting from the former Rivoli Theatre, currently housed at the National Building Arts Center (NBAC). Tolaas extracted and reconstructed smells from the crate that has stored the painting since the theatre’s demolition in 1983. These smells will be released inside an active sauna, which visitors are invited to use. The Living Sensory Archive will continue to expand, inviting visitors to contribute smells. This creates a participatory system of urban memory where emotion and sensation become tools for learning, communication, and agency. The Living Sensory Archive will become part of NBAC’s permanent collection.
This project is generously supported by Aki Ishida, Director of the College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design at Washington University in St. Louis; Derek Hoeferlin, Raymond E. Maritz Professor of Architecture and Chair of Landscape Architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis; John Bao, Master of Landscape Architecture; and Sammie Triola, Master of Landscape Architecture.
With support from The Hearthland Foundation.