Jan Uprichard is a Belfast-based artist who has developed a method of Deep Smelling. As both an artist and researcher, Jan works with smell as a means of reprogramming how we perceive our surroundings, while themes of friendship inform and fuel her curatorial practice.
ARTIST BIO
Jan completed a practice-based PhD at Ulster University in June 2024, developing a method of Deep Smelling. She has applied this method through a series of smellwalks in Edinburgh and Belfast, including walks on Divis Mountain and in the Waterworks as part of Aisling O'Beirn's Right to the Night project with Household. In 2021, she created an installation and accompanying smellwalk podcast for CCA Derry~Londonderry, marking the first public iteration of this research. Prior to this, Jan exhibited widely across Ireland, the UK, and Europe, and has received funding from Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council England, British Council, and the Garfield Weston Foundation.
Above: Deep Smelling Protocols, Jan Uprichard, 2026, Set of 25 A6 cards in a stitched and foil-blocked box, with ergonomic pencil and spare cards, 11.7cm x 16.2cm, edition of 15
Top left: Olfactstroll, Jan Uprichard, 2023, CCA DerryLondonderry, image courtesy of Paola Bernardelli.
She has undertaken projects and residencies nationally and internationally, including mapping urban neighbourhoods through smell, sound, and light, and leading sound ecology and botany walks in cities such as Paris, Athens, Edinburgh, Belfast, and Derry.
I Left My Senses in I.Drosopoulou, Jan Uprichard, 2016, publication, 2 month residency and solo show, Snehta, Athens
Smellwalk Grounding, Jan Uprichard, 2019 (Instigator of a week-long alternative art school/residency with Bernardine Carroll and Caelan Bristow, DeWett House, Cloughjordan)
Jan’s art practice oscillates between participatory events and obsessive research, employing smell, walking, archives, mapping, food, sound, film, bookmaking, botany, and interventions as creative tools.
Deep Smelling Protocols, Jan Uprichard, 2026, Set of 25 A6 cards in a stitched and foil-blocked box, with ergonomic pencil and spare cards, 11.7cm x 16.2cm, edition of 15
Deep Smelling is a meditative, experiential practice that brings attention to the often-overlooked sense of smell. Inspired by composer Pauline Oliveros’ concept of Deep Listening, the Deep Smelling Protocols comprise a series of simple exercises designed to encourage greater awareness of, and engagement with, our olfactory environment.
Deep Smelling Walk, Jan Uprichard, 2026, (Part of Flesh & Stone; an exhibition and events by Household)