Blog | Michael Borkowsky | Perfumer of the People

May 11, 2020
2 min

A Perfumer in a Pandemic

As soon as lockdown was announced I endeavoured to adapt and continue developing my artistic practice as much as possible. What actually happened was I ended up playing with Lego. In fairness I began in earnest; visiting my studio at the end of March in order to pack as many things as possible into a few suitcases and construct a studio of sorts in my dining room. Proudly, I arranged my bottles, essential oils and paints orderly and took a few pictures for the inevitable Inst

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Michael Borkowsky

Feb 22, 2020
1 min

Making a Commercial Perfume

This rather innocuous image represents the initial development of something I have thus far unexplored; selling perfume commercially. This perfume sample – outsourced to fragrance suppliers Carvansons to my specifications – will be sold at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery from May 2020, to coincide with their upcoming Pre-Raphaelite exhibition. While this unisex fragrance is designed with an element of mass appeal, it still contains a certain conceptual weight, as it acts as an

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 13, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #124 – Helen Sills

Helen Sills 50ml EDT Head – Orange, Lemon Heart – Apricot, pomegranate Body – Cocoa Bean, Vanilla Description – A veritable horn of plenty that references the all-encompassing nature of creative action and it’s many avenues. Sills’s Lost Dreams relates to the tragic end of many migrants who set out on a voyage to a new life and never make land. Sills’s work and corresponding perfume portrait were exhibited at Centrespace Gallery, Bristol, in October 2019. #migrants #Journey #

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 12, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #123 – Liz Griffiths

Liz Griffiths 50ml EDT Head – Peppermint, Bitter orange Heart – Spike lavender Body – Chamomile Description – Formulated to release your throat charka; this light, fresh fragrance describes how creative action acts as a voice. Griffith’s drawing, Untitled, was made on a bus journey, allowing the motion of the bus to guide the pen; it is part of a larger series made mostly in London, this one was made in Cornwall. Using this process, Griffiths is exploring ideas of authorship

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 11, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #122 – Stig Evans

Stig Evans 50ml EDT Head – Tea Tree, Clary Sage Heart – Dandelion Body – Patchouli, Honey Description – A picture of alchemy, here the act of attempting to achieve Magnum Opus may or may not result in perfumery. Evans’s Ferry is a Digitally manipulated photograph. Evans’s work and corresponding perfume portrait were exhibited at Centrespace Gallery, Bristol, in October 2019. #Journey #event #sea #aroma #portrait #culture #alchemy #making #photograph #Art #perfume #ferry #sm

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 10, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #121 – Andrea Freeman

Andrea Freeman 50ml EDT Head – Lemongrass, spearmint Heart – Juniper berry, black pepper Body – Rosewood, amber Description – Through intense mints and amber his fragrance references ‘Horme’ – a Greek spirit representing impulsive activity – while adhering to an authentic woody fragrance design. Of her photograph Past Present, Future, Freeman states: ‘Travelling in a plane or train or car, I feel stationary in the present, even though I am moving, whilst the world passes by

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 9, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #120 – Marisa Culatto

Marisa Culatto 50ml EDT Head – Rosemary, Peppermint Heart – Marjoram Body – Mulled wine, Frankincense Description – An ode to Hungary Water; the first known European perfume making process which still informs our understanding of the workings of scent. Culatto’s Honest Landscape 2 was taken on a road from within the car. Thus it depicts a journey. It does so literally, but also conceptually as part of a series of photographs put through an established process that sees origin

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Perfume Portrait #119 – Catherine Higham

Michael Borkowsky

Nov 8, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #119 – Catherine Higham

Catherine Higham 50ml EDT Head – Fresh linen Heart – Geranium, Indian geranium, Rose geranium, Rose Body – Ylang ylang Description – Referencing an essential oil discovery set, this fragrance acts as a test bed for floral fragrances, offset by a clean, neutral top note. Perfect for discovering preferences and nuances. Higham’s painting Horizon is concerned with the materials and processes of landscape; both natural and fabricated. Higham’s work and corresponding perfume portr

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 7, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #118 – Agatha Smith

Agatha Smith 50ml EDT Head – Mandarin Heart – Rose, Clove Body – Ylang Ylang, Cumin seed Description – At first glance this fragrance references a traditional, deliberate floral design. However, hints of spice add personality and exploration that allow it to break its own monotony. 177 Woolwich to Peckham is the first piece from Smith’s Pocket Drawing series. Her most recent work is focused around the realisation that everyone in the world is living a life just as complex

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Perfume Portrait #117 – Myfanwy Williams

Michael Borkowsky

Nov 6, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #117 – Myfanwy Williams

Myfanwy Williams 50ml EDT Head – Cut grass, Cotton Heart – Spike lavender, Sea salt Body – Driftwood, Musk Description – Embracing all manner of the outdoors as a vehicle for balance, harmony and therapy. This fragrance drives a sense of adventure. Journey is one of a series of paintings which deal with Williams’s childhood journeying by sea, travelling from one land to another, and appreciating the different ways of life, from the spices of Zanzibar to the engineering feat o

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 5, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #116 – Jenna Fox

Jenna Fox 50ml EDT Head – Tangerine, Ravensara Heart – Geranium, Body – Sandalwood, Ho leaf Description – Here domestic fragrances are offset by exotic fragrances to elicit an unnerving mystery at once familiar and alien. Fox’s Making a Run for It depicts a quintessential English cup and saucer that has grown chicken feet and is making a run for it as the start of a new adventure and voyage into the unknown. This work highlights Fox’s overarching concerns regarding how our h

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 4, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #115 – Robert Verrill

Robert Verrill 50ml EDT Head – Pomegranate Heart – Black pepper, ginger Body – Benzoin, myrrh Description – A provocative and thoughtful fragrance that references Pliny the Elder and his Naturalis Historia, which was critical and challenging of the frivolity of perfume. Verrill’s To The World with Love references travel and voyages in several ways. It is made from found materials which themselves speak of travel and journeys: corrugated cardboard from a box that would have c

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Perfume Portrait #114 – Heather Fiona Martin

Michael Borkowsky

Nov 3, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #114 – Heather Fiona Martin

Heather Fiona Martin 50ml EDT Head – Green Apple, Mandarin Heart – Moss, Fir needle Body – Sandalwood, Patchouli Description – Inspired by symbiotic relationships, and narratives found in nature, this concoction of earths and woods is at once balanced and chaotic. Martin’s Here be Dragons explores the depths of the deep seas and the life within remain unexplored; microscopic creatures at once beautiful and threatening. Here somehow similar but completely different pathogens

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 2, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #113 – Sue Burley

Sue Burley 50ml EDT Head – Strawberry Heart – Cocoa bean Body – Rosewood, Honey Description – Pleasant gourmand scents hide a pressing environmental concern, as all chosen oils are vulnerable specimens due to climate change. Burley’s Sail Away is a depiction of birds and boats, which are paper cuts from the edges of other monoprint used in a collage. The colours inspired the subject. The sail boats and birds are on their own voyage and the picture can also be seen as an expe

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Michael Borkowsky

Nov 1, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #112 – Lady M

Lady M 50ml EDT Head – Grapefruit, Ravensara Heart – Black Pepper Body – Seaweed, Amber Description – Based on mythical sea creatures that act entirely on compulsion, this intense fragrance provokes artistic action. Mellow Yellow is a captivating fusion of saffron, jasmine and vanilla and was drawn from Lady M’s observations made in South Turkey. Unlike smellscapes; which are more of an olfactory phenomenology; Lady M’s work sees her odours and produce olfactory art in a gal

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Michael Borkowsky

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 30, 2019
1 min

Perfume Portrait #110 – Clare Smith

Clare Smith 50ml EDT Head – Sweet Orange Heart – Clove Body – Benzoin, White musk, Honey Description – An ode to the pomander; which contained herbs essential for recovery. Honey symbolises a gold ribbon traditionally used for wearing pomanders as necklaces. Smith’s Flying over Beijing (Coming in to Land) is a drawing depicting a smog covered Beijing from the air. Smith’s work and corresponding perfume portrait were exhibited at Centrespace Gallery, Bristol, in October 2019.

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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

Jun 25, 2019
1 min

Perfumer of the People

My current Perfume as Practice solo exhibition is open at Asylum Gallery, Wolverhampton, until 29th June. As you may know, I theme my Perfume as Practice exhibitions around specific themes. Doing so allows me to respond to spaces and place perfumery in different contexts, reveling the capacity scent has to accommodate contemporary art concepts. It also allows me to play with a fragrance industry convention of unveiling a themed or seasonal collection. The theme for my Wolverh

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Michael Borkowsky

May 20, 2019
1 min

Perfume Making Workshops in Manchester

On Friday 24th May I am hosting two perfume making workshops at Manchester cradft and design centre. One at 11am – 1pm and one at 2 – 4pm. These 2 hour workshops begin with me introducing my unique, artistic approach perfumery and giving a working demonstration of how to make an Eau De Toilette. I will guide you through all aspects of perfume design including an explanation of fragrance types, an introduction to fragrance notes and how to blend oils to achieve the perfect fra

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