From Surgipelago, the Beach Surgery encyclopedia
The Kármán Whisper—A Synaesthetic Olfactory LARP
This article concerns an ongoing LARP in Tbilisi, Georgia. For the Kármán line motif, see The Kármán Line; for olfactory and synaesthetic adaptations, see Scent and olfactory art in Beach Surgery adaptation and Multisensory and synaesthetic adaptations.
An ongoing, non-linear LARP where participants navigate the boundary between atmosphere and void—interpreting the Kármán line as a threshold accessible through synaesthetic experience. Over three-to-seven-day cycles, participants inhale sequences of scents (incense, salt, ozone, myrrh, amber) while walking routes through Tbilisi designed to disorient: backwards staircases, mirrors, repeating intersections. Sound-design—binaural recordings of droning frequencies, Georgian liturgical chant run backward, the low rubbing-sound of the earth's spin—accompanies the olfactory journey.
Participants report synaesthetic effects: scent triggering sound-perception, color-field shifts, proprioceptive uncertainty, mirroring Leif's doubled vision and the characters' journey toward transcendence or collapse.
The LARP is rooted in Georgian Orthodox tradition (icon veneration of scent, the liturgical body) and apophatic theology (the boundary as unknowable sacred). Participants leave offerings; no facilitator emerges. Documentation is sparse: participant journals, photographic evidence from ██ private archive , audio fragments broadcast on irregular shortwave frequencies [citation needed].
Iterations continue; completion remains unclear.