On the 3rd of Nov. 2007, I gave a workshop of extracting the essence and making a simple perfume at CBK Almere Corrosia, The Netherlands.
There were 6 participants. They made their own perfumes with their memorial scents.
the scent of the dog —> the dog’s teddybear pickled in powder
the scent of baking bread —> water distillation while baking bread in the flask
the scent of hey —> soxhlet extraction
the scent of Brussels Sprout from own garden —> pickled in alcohol
a cocktail of cheese, flower, almond snack, hair moose, and the white wine —> pickled in alcohol
the scent of ‘speculaars’ of the Sinterklaas festival —> pickled in alcohol
When the workshop was finished, the opening started. During the opening the distillation and extraction machines were continuing their process.
The scents of the pickled materials will be extracted during the 2 months of the exhibition period. That means, the visitors will smell the scents ‘extraction in progreess’.
After the exhibition, I’ve filterd and bottled them. The bottles are ready to be shipped to the participants.
site specific, open air intervention/performance (2010)
CONCEPT
[EN]
Do you smell a field of rose flowers, or do you smell the scent of a beautiful woman? SMELL X ILLUSION is a boat-trip where new smells are being added to the existing environment. While you proceed through the Dordrecht harbours you perceive these smells and automatically you develop relationships between the smell and the environment.
SMELL X ILLUSION makes use of existing smells that are being presented in a different context. The audience is being challenged to enjoy the imaginations and illusions that appear because, wether we want it or not, always try to create a coherent world out of the perceptions of one and another sense. The ‘fluisterboot’ takes you on a trip along the back-sides of houses, shops and restaurants in the city centre of the medieval Dordrecht. These form the set for a challenging expedition.
[NL]
SMELL x ILLUSION is een rondvaart door Dordrecht waarbij nieuwe geuren aan de bestaande omgeving toegevoegd worden. Terwijl je door de havens van dordrecht vaart neem je deze geuren waar en leg je automatisch verbanden tussen beide.
SMELL x ILLUSION maakt gebruik van bestaande geuren die in een andere context gepresenteerd worden. Het publiek wordt uitgedaagd om te genieten van de verbeeldingen en illusies die onstaan doordat we, of we het willen of niet, een coherente wereld proberen te maken uit de waarnemingen van het ene en het andere zintuig. De ‘fluisterboot’ neemt je mee op een tocht langs de achterkanten van huizen, winkels en restauranten in centrum van het middeleeuwse Dordrecht. Deze vormen het decor voor een uitdagende expeditie.
The boat trip was lasting one hour. It sailed through the canals of the medieval Dordrecht city center. Time to time different scents were sprayed in the air with a sort of paint spray gun connected to an air tank. The scents were sometimes “matching” to the environment, but sometimes not, to create a nice surprise.
DEVELOPMENT
20 scents were developed, partly by manual extraction from the materials. The scents were sprayed in the air with a sort of paint spray connected to an air tank.
In my artistic practice I use smell as a medium to incorporate the olfactory sense in art. Speaking generally about smell, we often think about its practical applications: perfumery, toiletry, flavoring etc. Contrarily, I focus on the parts that are related to memories, emotions, perceptions, and experiences. The smell that I present is like a piece of painting.
Currently I am one of the few artists in the world focusing solely on the olfactory sense. Honorary enough I have been invited to the unique art exhibition with the smells (and of the smells) “If There Ever Was” held in the U.K. in 2008.
