Perfumery is not just a matter of mixing aromatics in a vessel, but it is effectively a network, where texts meet practice, trade, geography, politics, and religion in a literal and material manner.” — James McHugh
perfume culture
“I switch perfumes all the time. If I’ve been wearing one perfume for three months, I force myself to give it up, even if I still feel like wearing it, so whenever I smell it again it will always remind me of those three months. I never go back to wearing it again; it becomes part of my permanent smell collection…Odors are at once evocative and suggestive, redolent with significance.”
– ANDY WARHOL
“The scent of empires: Chanel Nº 5 and Red Moscow” is the title of a new book by the noted German historian of Eastern Europe Karl Schlögel.
“Sometimes at parties I slip away to the bathroom just to see what colognes they’ve got. I never […]
“Durch Glas”, a project on the perception of scent by the Swiss-Canadian artist Christelle Boulé wins the Prix […]
When Fragrances Tell: Olfactory Storytelling
Wenn Düfte erzählen hiess es vom 26. Mai bis zum 2. Juni 2019 in Solothurn. Im Rahmen des Schweizerischen Nationalfonds Agora Projekts Smelling more, smelling differently an der Berner Fachhochschule gab es eine Eventreihe mit mehreren hundert Besuchern, die als innovatives Duft- und Literaturfestival in die Annalen geht: interaktiv, partizipativ & performativ. Die Entwicklung neuer Düfte wurde zuvor in zwei weiteren Nationalfondsprojekten in Bern aus einer Managementperspektive mit einem innovativen Methodenmix untersucht. Wenn Düfte erzählen erweiterte diese Ansätze für den Dialog mit der Öffentlichkeit. Hier ein Rückblick auf Präsentationen, Schreibateliers, Workshops, Lesungen und die Duftbar.
“I like to think that every perfumer considers his or her work an art, and that a desire to create constitutes the motives for his work, because the perfumer is the first to appreciate the emotional investment he or she has put into the project. Unless freely chosen, collaborations with other perfumers can only do the utmost harm to a project.” – JEAN-CLAUDE ELLENA
A recent exhibition on perfumed objects and images provides the context for a few remarks on the role of flacons. Even after the finassage the catalogue deserves more attention.
“The Art of Scent” curated by Chandler Burr at the Museum of Art & Design in New York […]
“Perfumes are the soft-focus lense on our rough daily existence. They are the invisible, user-friendly interface in daily human interaction. They are sheer present – yet we have unearthed their primordial past. They seem pure phenomenon – yet they contain memory, erratic and unpredictable. And although they seem to lend themselves so well to the game of pure simulation, they do have dark and uncanny origins.” – HANS RINDISBACHER
Christophe Laudamiel once again shakes the industry and the field as a whole:
The emergence of publications have always been milestones for the development of fields and discourses. Thus the publication of an English speaking olfactory magazine is of significance. Bringing together articles, interviews, surveys and critical analysis with an olfactory focus, NEZ challenges us to use our noses to explore the world.
NEZ la revue olfactive is a valiant new effort from France to establish a gorgeously designed periodical devoted to scent & culture.
Ibrahim’s perfume stall in a Jordanian camp hosting Syrian refugees represents more than a business. It is also a small step towards building a community rooted in hope. We would like to learn more about Ibrahim’s endeavour. Please let him know!