Illustrator Michael O’Shaughnessy brings an unusual collection of classic French perfumes and bespoke fragrances into prisons across northern England, asking incarcerated men to smell each scent and share what memories it triggers in a project that’s unlocking something profound behind bars. The simple premise of his Perfume Stories workshops can stop men in their tracks, with participants recalling everything from messing around with their grandmother’s beauty creams to buying cherry lips sweets from the corner shop, moments when they were happier versions of themselves. O’Shaughnessy originally used scents to help struggling university students at Liverpool John Moores University develop storytelling ideas, finding that smell was a great leveler that reached students who couldn’t hit the ground running with traditional approaches.
After showcasing an installation at Tate Liverpool capturing people’s responses to various scents, representatives from prison education provider Novus asked if he would bring his idea behind bars, and he jumped at the chance. The workshops use timeless fragrances like Guerlain’s Shalimar and Chanel’s Cuir de Russie to transport men outside the internal walls of their confined spaces to better places and times, with participants describing the experience as mental escapism, positive, and in true Liverpool style, absolutely boss. More than nostalgic flights of fancy, the program offers a creative gateway into adult learning that challenges men who’ve had mixed educational experiences, getting them to write down memories and read them aloud, with the confidence boost catalyzing interest in other academic programs. O’Shaughnessy volunteers his time and has trained prison staff to run workshops themselves, with one prisoner writing that imagining his future through scent made him wonder what the world smells like and whether it has a place for him, proving that perfume can unlock experiences that are joyful, reflective, and possibly the start of redemption.
