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Smell Me! – An Olfactive Banquet in Six Courses by Stephen Dirkes
For Drink Me, Taste Me – An Exhibition of Curious Things
Opening Reception Saturday, April 13th 7-10PM
Exhibition
April 11th – May 12th, 2019
Curated by Norma Homberg
LiC-A/ The Plaxall Gallery
5-25 46th Ave, LIC, NY 11101
“Smell Me – An Olfactive Banquet”, presents six olfactory courses in sequence to imply the
framework of a narrative.
Six scents evoking the emotions: Hope, Excitement, Joy, Fear, Anger, and Regret through
a variety of wondrous, curious, and transcendental olfactory accords by perfumer, Stephen
Dirkes of Euphorium Brooklyn, to be consumed as a six course Olfactive Banquet.
Each course is presented in an apothecary style glass stoppered bottles on a side table
and under glass cloches as scented felt disks on the banquet table. The fragrant oil is
coloured as a synesthesic expression of the emotion of each course. Felt scent disks and
the wooden bases of the cloche employs associated fragrance colour.
.
Course #1 HOPE – Lavender
Course #2 EXCITEMENT – Charteuse
Course #3 JOY – Pink
Course #4 FEAR – Orange
Course #5 ANGER – Red
Course #6 REGRET – Black
To create a greater interactive engagement with the viewer, a paper tag tied to the bottle with
bright red string, at once both invites and declaims, “Smell Me!”.
A glass cloche, protects and creates a rarified inner space for each to course inhabit with
it’s offering of curious scent.
With the scent of each course contained under glass on a coloured felt disk, the viewer
must reach out and remove the cloche to choose to engage, release, and modify their
interaction with the scent.
By only being able to experience each course one at a time, our olfactive banquet is
served, “service à la russe”, or course by course. The only way for the viewer to
experience the totally of the meal is through the intellectual effort of remembering
the scent of the courses to mentally compose an accord or complete “perfume” of
the banquet.
This mnemonic exercise is intended to enhance one’s ability to develop a narrative
association to the scents, an awareness of a sequence to isolated experiences, and a
“meaning” or role of each scent within a storytelling framework.
FRAGRANT NOTES
Course #1 HOPE – transparent, ozonic, floral
Course #2 EXCITEMENT – vibrant, herbaceous, aromatic
Course #3 JOY – sugar, cream, butter
Course #4 FEAR – sweat, blood, musk
Course #5 ANGER – passion, amber, spice
Course #6 REGRET – smoke, charred wood, metal
A tantalus or perfume coffin contains the 6 apothecary bottles of scent for transport and displays
a list of courses in the banquet.
INSPIRATION
“Have you guessed the riddle yet?” the Hatter said, turning to Alice again. “No, I give it up,
”Alice replied: “what’s the answer?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” said the Hatter.
“Nor I,” said the March Hare.
Alice sighed wearily. “I think you might do something better with the time,” she said, “than
waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.”
– Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
Lewis Carroll’s, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, surreal children’s novel has entertained
and inspired readers for generations since it’s first publication in 1865.
What does Excitement smell like for you?
Whether you endeavor to interpret the narrative implied or to create your own as the scents
inspire you, you will find that sometimes it is most rewarding to ask riddles that have no
answers.
Viewers can interact with the courses in any order they choose to express and experience
a variety of narratives in the sequences they determine themselves.
Conceived and executed for this exhibition, “Smell Me! Six Course Olfactive Banquet” is
intended to be exhibited in, on, and around other art objects to populate a Wonderland
inspired banquet table. It is intended to represent an olfactive component for an otherwise,
multimedia installation by a collective of independent artists brought together by curator,
Norma Homberg.
EUPHORIUM BROOKLYN CHOCOLATL – ANTIDOTE CHOCOLATE PAIRING
An Eau de Parfum & Chocolate Pairing For a Theatrical Performance
Perfumer, Stephen Dirkes of Euphorium Brooklyn and chocolatier, Red Thalhammer
of Antidote created pairings of CHOCOLATL Eau de Parfum with Coffee & Cardamom,
Mango & Juniper, and Earl Grey & Orange chocolates.
Based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Ecuador, Antidote creates bean to bar chocolates by
sustainable means and direct trade with cocoa farmers. A high percentage of raw cocoa,
low sugar, and organic vegan ingredients means delicious and healthy decandence.
As a special treat for VIP guests, the chocolate will be served on CHOCOLATL Eau de
Parfum scented napkins at stations located throughout the performance space.
CHOCOLATL Eau de Parfum, is a dark, spicy, Mexican cocoa accord and features
fragrance notes of: Mexican Cocoa, Nutmeg, Clove, Cassia, Black Pepper, Myrrh,
Coffee, Neroli, Davana, Raisin, Prune, Labdanum, Angelica Root, Honey, Vanilla,
Caramel, Palm Sugar, Copal, Peru Balsam, Benzoin, Tolu Balsam, Castoreum, and Musk.
By pairing with three different Antidote chocolate bars, different notes in the CHOCOLATL
fragrance are echoed or resonated in each chocolate. This serves to facilitate a greater
awareness of the fragrance in detail.
