Blog | Michael Borkowsky | Perfumer of the People

Oct 31, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #111 – Grant Lambie

Grant Lambie 50ml EDT Head – Sweet Orange Heart – Corriander, Cinnamon Body – Frankincense, Benzoin Description – A depiction of Catherine of Bologna, the Patron Saint of Artists: Here body notes depict religious sanctity, mid notes reference her capacity as a baker, and a top note that alludes to her sweet smelling grave. Lambie’s collage Circling is from a series of works which looks at ways the 2D map can be reconfigured to make different forms of reading. Here the ‘A’ ro

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Michael Borkowsky

Oct 27, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #107 – JanCarlo Caling

JanCarlo Caling 50ml EDT Head – Petitgrain, Lemon Heart – Cypress, Ginger Body – Sandalwood Description – A celebration of masculinity, this nominally woody fragrance is complimented by bursts of ginger and lemon; symbols of happiness. Caling’s The End of a Journey is an acrylic painting on paper. The colours used also project joy, which is what Caling wants the viewers to feel when they are looking at my painting. The work also takes inspiration from the term “self love” a

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Michael Borkowsky

Feb 6, 2019
3 min

Fronteer Open Call – Botanicals

Fronteer – an arts initiative by myself and Sharon Mossbeck – presents Botanicals, a group exhibition featuring art work relating to a botanical theme. The theme can be interpreted however you wish, and does not need to be overtly botanical. Work can be in any medium, either 2D or sculptural. The exhibition will not include any video or audio works. We are looking for high quality work to form a stylised exhibition with an exhibition catalogue to accompany it. The exhibition

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Michael Borkowsky

Apr 19, 2018
1 min

Perfume Portrait #71 – Sonny J. Barker

Sonny J. Barker 50ml EDT Head – Petitgrain, lime, niaouli Heart – Juniper berry, black pepper Body – Ylang Ylang, Cedarwood Description – an affirmative fragrance that simultaneously reveals a certain vulnerability yet turns it into positive creative action. Citrus top notes brim with a focused mental capacity and, while delicate floral notes are revealed, so too are assertive spices and grounding woods. Confident yet complex. This perfume is one of fifteen housed at Bureau,

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Perfume Portrait #28 – Samantha Galbraith

Michael Borkowsky

Nov 30, 2016
1 min

Perfume Portrait #28 – Samantha Galbraith

Samantha Galbraith 50ml EDT Head – Lemon, Lime Heart – Cypress Body – Frankincense Description – Wholly positive with an established lust for a rich and diverse reality, this fragrance draws upon the notion of inspiration and offers an avid celebration of life. This perfume was created by utilising the artist’s response to the question ‘why do make art?’ It is included in Perfume as Practice AW16 – an exhibition at Bank Street Arts, Sheffield comprising of 14 perfume portrai

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 30, 2016
1 min

Perfume Portrait #27 – Lucien Fellowes

Lucien Fellowes 50ml EDT Head – Sweet Birch Heart – Cinnamon, Ginger Body – Sandalwood Description – Nominally sweet and as such, a direct association with compulsion is established. Though ginger and sandalwood highlight creatively intuitive tenancies. This perfume was created by utilising the artist’s response to the question ‘why do make art?’ It is included in Perfume as Practice AW16 – an exhibition at Bank Street Arts, Sheffield comprising of 14 perfume portraits themed

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An Invitation to my Perfume as Practice A/W 2016 Open Evening

Michael Borkowsky

Nov 7, 2016
1 min

An Invitation to my Perfume as Practice A/W 2016 Open Evening

Join me on Saturday 3rd December at Bank Street Arts, Sheffield, from 6-8pm for an open evening of my Perfume as Practice autumn / winter 2016 collection. Perfume as Practice A/W ’16 will feature 15 unique perfumes, each a portrait of another artist. This achieved initially by posing the question ‘why do you make art?’ then using the responses received to create a perfume that captures the essence of an artists’ persona. This iteration of Perfume as Practice will also look at

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 3, 2016
3 min

Reflecting on October

Finding the time to write about my practice is proving harder and harder. I can only hope that my lack of online transparency is being perceived as a vain attempt to appear mysterious and elusive in order to affect intrigue in my work. The truth of the matter is far more banal however – I just haven’t had the time. My general – and probably erroneous – theory is that the more stuff you do the less you write about it, simply on the basis that time is finite, and can either be

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FUSE – A Crowdfunding Campaign Bringing Artists and Cities Together

Michael Borkowsky

Sep 11, 2016
1 min

FUSE – A Crowdfunding Campaign Bringing Artists and Cities Together

Fuse Crowdfunding Campaign – 10 artists, 3 cities, 1 exhibition. Help make it Happen! FUSE is an upcoming exhibition at The Holt, Sheffield that seeks to bring 10 artists from 3 different cities together under the theme of FUSE. My work for this exhibition will fuse travel with perfume We aim to not only bring you diverse and intriguing approaches to the theme of FUSE, which each artist may interpret however they wish, but we also seek to bridge 3 different sets of artists an

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Michael Borkowsky

Aug 16, 2016
1 min

An Invitation to Unity

I would like to invite everyone to the opening evening of UNITY on Friday 19th August 2016, from 6-8pm. 50 artists from around the UK have submitted work, making for an exciting and diverse exhibition. Refreshments available during the open evening and you will have the chance to meet many of the artists involved. Entry is FREE, and you can find us at Exchange Place Studios, Exchange Street, Sheffield S2 5SZ Other than the open evening, the exhibition runs from Thursday 18th

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Speculative Studio #2 – Sharon Hall Shipp

Michael Borkowsky

Jun 27, 2016
1 min

Speculative Studio #2 – Sharon Hall Shipp

A fabricated version of the creative processes that propel the artist Sharon Hall Shipp ‘Hall Shipp combines the virtues of chance with the aesthetics of geometry to document our desire for establishing patterns – whether that be imagined, sub-conscious or directly. Hall Shipp’s process reveals how pattern making allows us to establish a connection with our environments’ Speculative Studios was an exhibition at BasementArtsProject that assumed the studio spaces of two artists

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Michael Borkowsky

Jun 25, 2016
1 min

Speculative Studio #1 – David Cotton

A fabricated version of the creative processes that propel the artist David Cotton ‘An interest in cartography informed with a desire for travel, Cotton’s work attaches the historical presumptions of mythology to the scientific advances of modern map making techniques. This reveals both the inaccuracies that exist within modern map design and cartography’s capacity for narrative, aesthetic and metaphor.’ Speculative Studios was an exhibition at BasementArtsProject that assume

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Identity as Performance – Reflecting on Speculative Studios

Michael Borkowsky

Jun 23, 2016
2 min

Identity as Performance – Reflecting on Speculative Studios

After a period of inactivity – due in no small part to a bloody annoying leak in my living room – it is time to reflect on my most recent exhibition. ‘Speculative Studios’ occupied BasementArtsProject from the 10th – 20th June. It was the latest incarnation of my project ‘Speculative Studio Spaces‘, which takes an exhibition piece produced by another artist and attempts to re-imagine the process of arriving at the finished piece by fabricating the artists’ entire studio space

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Michael Borkowsky

Apr 18, 2016
1 min

The Return of Speculative Studio Spaces

In May I’ll be involved in no less than 4 exhibitions and events. A busy time indeed, but one I am very much looking forward to getting stuck into! May also marks the return of one strand of my creative endeavours – Speculative Studio Spaces – which sees me construct a fabricated studio space based on the exhibition piece of another artist. When a highly personal space such as an artists studio is opened to investigation and interpretation, what does that say about the artist

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Michael Borkowsky

Jan 20, 2016
1 min

Fiery Fella

Behold, my first attempt at a scented candle! Not bad eh? But why?! I hear you ask. Well, as well as it being a notable use for fragrance oils – which I have in abundance due to my perfumery pursuits – I am seeking to initiate and develop a new strand of work, which will re-purpose church spaces in an attempt to re-align art to religion. My work tends to offer many layers of engagement whist also seeming relativity subtle- a studio space that isn’t actually a studio space; a

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 29, 2015
1 min

Perfume as Practice Call-Out to Artists

5 Perfumes made, 45 to go! I have had some great responses to the question ‘why do you make art’. What has struck me is the varied and individual range of responses – reflective of my desire to create bespoke products that capture the essence of artists’ personas. No two have been the same and confirm that there are as many reasons to practice creative endeavors as there are people. If you are an artist or maker, I would love to hear a response to the question ‘why do you mak

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 27, 2015
1 min

Perfume Portrait #4 – Edie OP

Edie OP EDT 50ml Description Experience the innate joy in an expanding and infinite landscape! This fragrance reminds you that anything is possible and that allowing an organic love for life to breathe and develop will in turn breed creativity. Features Joyfully happy, this fragrance attempts an intense positive hit, but at the same time is steeped in reality. The sweet scent of Orange, Lemon and Cinnamon bark attempts this instant positive hit, while May Chang ensures such p

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 23, 2015
3 min

5 Tips for a Successful Open Studio

And so, after around 150 visitors through my door, 2 pieces of work sold, 6 cups of tea and a slice of carrot cake I believe it fit to deem this years’ Yorkshire Artspace Open Studios a success. Last year my work felt a little impenetrable to the public gaze: Attempting to explain why I make paint out of food, and how I consider that paint to be a complete and potent work of art was tricky at the best of times. This year, equipped with a spiel about perfume and with an abunda

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 20, 2015
1 min

Perfume Portrait #3 – Joanne McClellan

Joanne McClellan EDT 50ml Description Hold on to your hats, it’s Pandora’s Box! Although, sensitive to the idea of tradition and our ancestors, this rendition of Pandora’s box is true to the historical virtues of an undecorated and weathered urn. With a palpably crafted feel that considers the nature of human existence, this fragrance gifts us the opportunity to question the morals and implications of mythology in relation to ourselves. Features This fragrance considers creat

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Transition – From Speculating Studios to Perfecting Perfumery

Michael Borkowsky

Oct 31, 2015
3 min

Transition – From Speculating Studios to Perfecting Perfumery

Last week marked the end of Speculative Studio Spaces – by exhibition at Access Space, Sheffield. The experience was punctuated by two events; the Opening Evening and an Artists Talk and Guide. Both gave me valuable insight into how the project is perceived, what works and what can be tweaked for upcoming exhibitions due next year. Two things in particular caught my attention – the need for my presence and how Speculative Studio Spaces demands certain a level of engagement. S

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