OLFACTORY ART
Two olfactory works: Sarab and Hawa
Through olfaction, Dana El Masri invites us to rewrite orientalism. By playing with classical notes popular in French perfumery, and pervading them with scents of everyday life, the first scent aims to strip away the romanticism associated with a movement that is at the core colonial.
To bring a new perspective, the second scent expresses expansion. With the use of fresher notes, we’re guided towards a future away from fantasy, inspiring new possibilities, and honours forgotten histories. By challenging the olfactory codes of ‘oriental’ scent, Dana allows for a narrative closer to reality and away from colonial fantasy to prevail.
Materials: Essential oils & Aroma molecules in Argan oil. Embedded in cotton within carved wooden boxes.
Currently on view: March 5th-May 28th 2023
Denver, CO, United States
Interview with Dana.
Images courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
TEN ENCOUNTERS
OLFACTORY ART KELLER
New York, United States
Year
Oct + Nov 2021 (reintroduced as Twelve Encounters in Los Angeles, Dec 2022)
One of Ten olfactory pieces. 10 scented works from around the world recreate real and imagined encounters.
Images courtesy of Olfactory Art Keller
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One evening, Ahmosi was visited by the god Amun, who made himself recognizable by his godly aroma. Upon waking, Ahmosi recognized the God. As the story goes, "his love passed into her limbs, which the fragrance of the god flooded; all his odors were from Punt." The result of this olfactory union was the conception of the second female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut. (Memphis, Egypt)
Capturing the moment between the god Amun, disguised as Thutmose I (Thutmosis), and Ahmose (Ahmosi) as they unite to create Hatshepsut. A spiritual connection, a moment hidden from the light, only to create light, joined for peace. An ancient chamber flooded with scent, narcotic yet ascendant, invisible yet denotes divine presence.
Notes: blue lotus, chamomile, marjoram,
black cumin CO2, cinnamon bark CO2, and labdanum.
SELF DISCOVERY, SMELL PORTRAIT Scent Installation
‘I Am From Here/Je Suis d'içi’, curated by Rad Hourani Foundation
UNISEX GALLERY
Montreal, Canada
Year
2021
SPOIL -
In collaboration with Artist & Educator Dana Prieto.
Excerpt and Images courtesy of Dana Prieto.
Spoil is a sensuous multidisciplinary meditation on the unsettling material remnants of colonial extraction in the hands of Canadian corporations. This olfactory installation brings forward deep smells of volcanic earth from around "Bajo la Alumbrera" mine, blended with sharp notes that resemble the most harmful contaminants instilled by gold-mining operations: arsenic and cyanide. This work was a part of "Grounding" curated by Maya Wilson Sanchez from September to December 2020 at the Art Gallery of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Rich mineral soil, terracotta, geosmin, plant matter, gun powder, apricot pits, unripe peaches, bitter almonds and garlic flowers.
Guelph - Toronto - Montreal, Canada
Year
2020
SHIM EL YASMEEN - SMELL THE JASMINE شم الياسمين
Scent Installation exhibited at ‘Take Care of Yourself’, curated by Sundus Abdul Hadi.
Exploring the duality of light and dark in relation to mental health and self-care. Shim El Yasmeen is a moment of respite among the flowers.
Jasmine Grandiflorum, Jasmine Sambac, Stephanotis, Jasmine Absolute India 10%, Wood Panels, Cotton, Silk, Wires.
Images by Dana El Masri
Montreal, QC, Canada
Year
2017
