Paper short abstract:

I consider 'divine fragrance' within the landscape of Rio de Janeiro's subúrbios. How is the creation of divine fragrance from toxic run-off a story about temporal entanglements with waste, material toxicity and environment in the 'taskscape'?

Paper long abstract:

This paper considers the movement and temporality of 'divine fragrance' across Rio de Janeiro's poor suburban landscape. 'Divine fragrance' is made of a toxic liquid perceived as 'waste' by its international perfume manufacturer. I track how their workers surreptitiously capture and transport this fragrance in 55-gallon barrels, re-forming it into a household disinfectant sold in evangelical communities and networks. The process of reforming toxic waste into divine fragrance is a kind of interactivity in the 'taskscape'. It highlights the entanglement of scent, materials, humans and environment, while at the same time challenging distinctions between the 'toxic' and the 'natural'. Scent is not trivial in informal built environments. These places are often defined by their 'uncleanliness', acute water shortages, and a lack of basic infrastructures. In this paper, then, I trace the very specific 'matter-flow' and 'becoming' of divine fragrance (Deleuze and Guattari 2004) - and the sustenance of evangelical worlds - within the landscape of Rio de Janeiro's subúrbios. I consider how the interactivity of creating divine fragrance from toxic run-off is a story about temporal entanglements with waste, material toxicity and environment, as well as slavery, religious conversion and urban governance. The fragrance of the landscape is embedded in both the toxic and divine 'doing of the world'. In this way, by placing 'divine fragrance' within Ingold's notion of the taskscape, this paper advances the conversation concerning the entanglement of the sensorium, waste and religion in the Anthropocene.