Dismell (excerpt)

Silvan Tomkins was a 20th century psychologist who believed that there are nine affects that are biologically based and cannot be classified as emotions. He believed they manifest a shared biological heritage with what is called emotion in animals. These are: interest-excitement, enjoyment-joy, surprise-startle, distress-anguish, anger-rage, fear-terror, “dissmell” and disgust. Extending beyond Freudian drives, these are immutable biological affects. With reactions being beyond human conscious control, this perspective nearly negates the concept that as a human we are responsible for our negative actions. Boys will be boys, after all. Focusing on Dismell, this piece is inspired by Tomkin’s made up word “Dissmell” which he considers the biological response to noxious tastes and odors.
Is someone, feeling a profound antipathy towards another! , experiencing a subjective dismell and therefore justified in their negative reaction as a biological state? This can give easy justification for all forms of discrimination. This piece contemplates where responsibility for a negative reaction to someone lies. Performers embody the reaction of dismell. They express this as indifference in movement, dominating movements and even facial expressions.
Dismel is a work inspired by the 9/11 stories with the focus on a biological reaction when encountering the obnoxious smells that occurred in the event of 9/11.