Last Friday I went to a preview of Voice
of Reason – Exhibition of Olfactory Works by Gorilla Perfumes, the fine
fragrance branch of cosmetics company Lush. I thought it would be the perfect subject
for my first blog post, as I am a self-confessed Lush addict and fragrance
fanatic. I also work in visual arts so this event combined two of my interests.
The idea behind the exhibition / installation is to create a multi-sensory
experience to present the second collection of fragrances to the public. They
describe the exhibition as “designed to showcase an exploration of, and devotion to the sense
of smell.”
I arrived shortly after the opening time of 2pm, but found that they
hadn’t opened yet as they were still adding the finishing touches to the
exhibition. There was a small crowd gathering outside, but after a few minutes
of us pressing our faces against the glass window and making puppy dog eyes
they let us in and out of the cold. Initially we were only allowed in the shop
– which in itself had lots to explore. All the newest fragrances from Gorilla
were on display and for sale. As you can see from the photo, the bottles are a
number of different shapes and sizes. They look quite quirky, and reminded me a
bit of an old apothecary. I particularly liked the bottles that dispensed the
perfumes like a pipette – I think those were the 27g size bottle. So initially
we spent some time with the shop assistants who told us a little bit about the
background of the new fragrances, and showed us how we could best ‘test’ them,
which is by making sure the fragrance is warmed against the skin after applying
and before smelling. Some of the adjectives that sprung to mind when exploring
this collection for the first time are: bold, complex, earthy, shamanic,
primitive, emotive. The odd one out from the collection is probably Sun – quite
a simple, straight forward citrus – lovely but very different from the rest of
the collection.
Aside from the perfumes (which also included older Gorilla fragrances) there
were some items of jewellery that release the scent of perfume as you wear them
and they warm against your skin. I love the concept although am unsure if I
would ever use it in practice.
Wesley showing off his jewels
For the preview there were also some exclusive fragrances available,
including HQ. HQ is a much-coveted perfume that smells just like a Lush shop. You
know, that smell that hits you when you’re still several blocks away from it.
The perfume smells exactly as I expected it to – that blend of scents you associate
with Lush – and they really do blend perfectly without any clashing. Of course
I had to buy it! Although people have commented that my bedroom smells like a
Lush shop so maybe I didn’t really need to! I also picked up a couple of other
things in the shop, pictured below.
HQ & Creamy Candy Fragrances, Tote, 2x badge, comic, map
Once I had bankrupted myself in the shop we were eventually led into the
gallery space itself, and taken on a guided tour of the different rooms, each
of which was scented with a different perfume, with the installation somehow
explaining or complimenting the perfume.
Paul handing out maps so we don't get lost!
There was too much going on to go through everything in detail, and
actually I don’t want to spoil it too much for people who do want to go, so
I’ll just go through some of my highlights:
- The Smell of Weather Turning – we went through a darkened room full of trees that was occasionally illuminated with lightning and accompanied by thunder
- Dirty and Lust – two separate rooms but the same concept – Dirty was a men’s toilet in a bar/club and Lust was a women’s toilet. If you know the fragrances you’ll understand why this works so well!
- The Bug – I put this as a highlight but it was actually really quite disturbing. You were given wireless headphones playing really unsettling music as you walked through darkened rooms where you were being shown on screen in night-vision!
- Voice of Reason – little record booths where you listened to beat generation era vinyl
Inside the Voice of Reason booth
The separate rooms were scented in different ways – for
example the walls might be scented, or some of the props within the room. I’m
not entirely sure how they did it, but each room did really have its own
distinctive smell, they didn’t all merge together.
Overall I think the exhibition is really successful. I really hope – and
I think this is the intention - that it will change the way people think about
fragrance. By creating this very immersive experience in a gallery setting it
argues that fragrance should be awarded the same place as other important
elements of our culture such as art and music. By creating multi-sensory
experiences that focus on fragrance, I think it also emphasises that fragrance
can and should provide a more meaningful experience for the wearer than simply
smelling nice. This exhibition is really timely – because it is especially
around Christmas time that we are bombarded with superficial adverts featuring
A-list celebrities or models, writhing around semi-nude trying to tell us that
a perfume will make us more successful or more attractive to the other sex.
Sadly, I think fragrance has been rather abused and misused by the advertising
industry. Perfumery shares the complexities of other artforms. Fragrance should
be worn as an expression of your personality or your mood. It can transport you
to a different place, or a different time. And when fragrances are as good as
Gorilla’s are, the only limit is your own imagination.
Once we’d been guided through the rooms we were also treated to a
Q&A with Mark Constantine (Lush co-founder) and Simon Constantine (Head
Perfumer). It was fascinating and really was the cherry on the cake on what was
already a fantastic day!
Q&A
Whether you’re interested in fragrance or not, I really recommend going to
the exhibition. I can guarantee it will be quite unlike anything you’ve ever
experienced. The exhibition is open until Christmas Eve, with the shop remaining
open for some time thereafter. I’ll certainly be going back.
Voice of Reason –
Exhibition of Olfactory Works at Red Gallery, 3 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3DT
Opening Hours: Monday
- Friday 11am - 7pm, Saturday 11am - 6pm and Sunday 1pm - 5pm. Until 24
December
