Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

“What is the role of smell in this particular work (and in your general practice)?” – AC. “That would be, the role of smell, aromatherapy, but so much more. Emotion, memory, solace, comfort, mystery, glamour, femininity (any perfume also those marketed to men…it’s not for nothing that ‘alpha men’ if they exist prefer their queer sex partners to not wear any scent), time travel. I forgot to mention above that when I was very very young my grandmother June, my mother’s mother, had a little empty bottle of ‘Joy’ pure partum/extrait as a showpiece in her showerroom. I was always fascinated by this little empty bottle which had no smell anymore and my grandmother told me her mother Norma had given it to her. So it had history too. Perfume is as conceputal as it is sensual. The brand names, perfume names, bottles, marketing, it ALL has influence on how you experience a perfume. No matter what anyone says to the contrary. When I was hospitalized for depression I went running alot and one of the first smells that woke me up and made me feel centered was the woodsmoke coming out of the houseboats along the Amstel river. But my interest is specifically in perfume and it’s relation to skin and the body. Also smells like shit that are actually erotic, and in history animal ingredients were used to give this slight hint of eroticism (civer, castoreum, musk, ambregris and these days hyraceum and synthetic reproductions) as these animal products which may smell fecal or urinous in dilution smell floral. I love beeswax and honey by the way in perfumes, although I am turning Vegan so I try to bypass animal products these days, sometimes in vintage perfumes that is hard to do. Smell is very social, there is this book ‘The History of Shit’ that is an interesting philosophical poetic account of how our sanitation systems have determined our metropolises. Dominique Laporte is the author, I think — Smell is social because when we acknowledge smell’s power we are acknowledging our humanity and all the things that come with that and how different smells are perceived in different parts of the world and what is considered attractive or repulsive or sometimes both at the same time. Smell is invisible and my work is using behavior, emotions, thoughts, feelings, relationships, as materials which are also all invisible things. I could not have gotten to these invisibilities without my interest and experience of perfume. Here is the inventory of my collection: https://www.fragrantica.com/me... It stands now at 528 bottles and countless samples and miniature perfumes. And this is pretty much an average collection as collecting goes. I know people who literally have 1000’s of perfumes… Smell is a severely underrated sense. It has the power to affect mood, balance, confidence, to calm stress and to provide wonder. I am especially interested in perfume because I do not know how to make such a composition and I do not want to know. A perfumer I respect in the USA, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, told me once don’t worry about What you are smelling, individual notes etc. just pay attention to how a perfume makes you feel. I thought this was good advice and it’s served me well since… Also, I like to try and match perfumes with people, even if I get it wrong I learn something each time I try. And it gives me joy to share complex perfumes with people to share the feeling of wonder. No perfume is uninteresting to me, mass market, niche, high end, cheap, they all have their merits and specificities. I think the social dimension is the most interesting when it comes to perfume. Perfume people have something that draws them together which often outs itself as kind passion. – SMW. “Is there a relation between smell and other core elements to your practice? Gender, memory, emotions? i.e. pro-feminist approaches to olfactory art.” – AC. “Yes there is a direct relation, as I explain above to a degree. Sharing is a big part of what I do. I have started to call performances ‘sharing events’. I love sharing what I am so very fortunate to own. Gift giving as and in my work is also very important, and perfume connects with this. I like giving almost more than I like receiving/getting. I say sometimes that perfume is like ‘spray-on femininity’ to make me more whole as a person and artist, to give me what I miss biologically. Memory and emotions as I describe above are key elements to my artistic thinking, and I am always rehashing the past and feeling it over again. Perfume is a way to experience joy wonder beauty brutality existentialism sensuousness a life force all at once. I consider myself an olfactory artist as much as a painter or body artist, but I just buy my materials readymade. There is a history of artists and perfumes (Dali, Niki di Saint-Phalle, Duchamp, etc.) and celebrities like Cher releasing perfumes, or Elizabeth Taylor who released a whole range of perfumes, these are artistic acts as well. Alain Delon also had an interesting range of perfumes. And then there are perfume ambassadors like Marilyn Monroe or Catherine Deneuve. I would say my all time favorite representations of perfumery are things like Chanel No. 5 pure parfum/extrait. Joy and wonder in life, and transformation of experience into ATMOSPHERE are my key concepts. Atmosphere creation is very important and perfume is excellent at that. And yes I would like to use the word Profeminist here, as I feel perfume is threatening to some forms of patriarchy. Once I showed the collection in Munich and a small group of hetero guy artists were plotting to bomb it, or so they said. It’s one of the only times I’ve actually had to resist the urge to get into a physical fight…” – SMW.