Aromatic smoke has long marked moments of transition, from the physical realm toward the spiritual. Drawing on Japanese Buddhist funerary and memorial practices, the session offers cultural context for how incense purifies and mediates ongoing relationships between the living and the dead.

Assistant professor Paulina Kolata will first guide participants through the galleries in an exploration of Japanese Buddhist incense implements as well as devotional objects and statues shaped by centuries of smoke and fragrance. Then in the Materials Lab with artist Alexis Karl, participants will create their own hand-formed incense using wood, roots, flowers, and herbs traditionally used in Japan.