If someone had told me last year when I began this blog that I would one day see an article published I probably would have cracked up laughing. So you can only imagine how absolutely thrilled I am to have been able to contribute to ODOU Issue Four. Continue reading
As far as perfume launches go, Lankaran Forest took things to the next level and then some. The release of the Maria Candida Gentile creation coincided with the closing of the Buta Festival, a five month long programme of Azerbaijani arts and cultural events at venues across London, and the celebration of the Persian New Year, Nowruz. The March event, held at the Royal Academy, had lots of free flowing champagne, buffet tables decorated with a Dionysian display of spices and sweets, and even the odd celebrity or two.
However, the highlight of the event was the Francisco Rodriguez Weil designed Lankaran Forest sensory installation. This immersive experience allowed guests to wander through a “perfume sculpture” snapshot of tangled trees and fallen leaves, the fragrance of Lankaran Forest diffused throughout the space.
I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with Maria Candida Gentile about the perfume she created for the event.
“We believe that our sense of smell is learnt from deeply embedded associations with colour and texture. What happens when we soften and unlearn our logic for interpreting scents.” Asakala Geraghty, Creative Director at Illuminum London.
Architect Antonino Cardillo’s Colour as Narrative at Illuminum Perfume Gallery is a unique olfactory experience that weaves together subtle sensory stimuli through its use of a space within a space, recesses of light, and, contrary to its title, the awareness of scent through its sparse use of colour.
I was lucky to catch the last day of Leontia Gallery’s witty and thought-provoking Consume pop-up exhibition in Hoxton this week. While its primary format is its online presence, Leontia Gallery also stages a series of temporary pop-up spaces throughout London where they showcase the work of exciting, emerging international artists such as Rococo Wonderland, urban artist Schoony, Magnus Gjoen, Jean-Luc Almond, and Carne Griffiths, who are working in unique formats and unexpected use of materials.
I have a real fascination and affinity for the 1960’s. Today I watched Alistair Sooke’s excellent Culture Show Special Pop Go the Women, which profiled seven female pop artists, Pauline Boty, Jann Haworth, Letty Lou Eisenhauer, Idelle Weber, Marisol, and my personal favorite, Rosalyn Drexler, whose interview I found so honest and insightful.
Rosalyn Drexler, Alistair Sooke and Rosalyn’s painting Marilyn Pursued by Death
Pop Go the Women is available to view on BBC iPlayer until 17th May. I definitely recommend checking it out!
Pauline Boty
Marisol Escobar
Idelle Weber’s Lever Building 2
bgirl rhapsody 