Perfumed soap blanks
10 soap blanks cast according to a recipe, 12 x 23 x 3 cm
Cabinet, wood 145 x 45 x 100 cm,
10 sheets with texts based on interviews, A3+, framed,
The soap blocks lying in compartments were poured according to special recipes with fragrances, perfumes, and colors. The smells refer to olfactory experiences of personal everyday life. The moment the viewer opens one of the compartments, the smells evoke personal experiences and trigger memories, such as memories of spaces, experiences, unconscious, preconscious stories, or feelings. Absence becomes presence, an intangible experience that bridges time and distance.
The soaps lie in a cabinet-like object box, which is reminiscent of a house shape - one enters a strange house and begins to orient oneself first and foremost unconsciously through smell.
The viewer, who opens the compartments, can relate the blanks lying in the compartments to the olfactory experiences documented in texts.
These text excerpts are based on surveys in which volunteers were able to smell soaps and record their associations. In the texts, metaphorical representations are mixed with banal descriptions of everyday life. This approach has brought to light a hidden text, based on which - associatively - the colors of the soap blanks and their smells have been composed.
Maraya Art Foundation, UAE Unlimited March-August 2019, Collection HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nayan
