This November saw me open my 4th Perfume as Practice solo show – and the first one to be ran outside Sheffield. Perfume as Practice AW17 opened at Surface Gallery, Nottingham, on the 3rd November and runs until the 18th.
This particular incarnation comprises 20 perfume portraits and 5 painted representations of constellations. I have chosen ‘Constellations’ as an overarching theme because it occurred to me that there are parallels between space and fragrance – both are mysterious, intangible and difficult to fully describe. So I deduced that placing them beside each other might extend our knowledge and relationship with both.
Once again, the exhibition has been well received, with my innovative approach to perfumery cited as a key point of intrigue. It’s been fun exhibiting in a city that has no pre-conceptions of my work, and it’s encouraged a deeper consideration of how fragrance can exist in a space relative to an overarching theme. I certainly think that the visual elements of the exhibition fully compliment the fragrances.
The fragrances, as ever, are achieved through a process that begins by asking artists the question ‘why do you make art?’ Then, through a established method of interpretation and investigation, relevant and meaningful fragrance are combined in order to achieve a perfume that captures the essence of each artist. It’s a process that is becoming increasingly honed, and the simple act undergoing this process for almost 3 years has developed my skills as a fine art perfumer. As such, I can appreciate the relative coherence of my my recent perfumes. Though hopefully this process will just see me continuously improve.
Perfume as Practice continues at Surface Gallery until 18th November.