Geosmin & Rosaphen
Sea Foam Home
February 8 - March 31, 2020
The scent of a rose is composed of hundreds of natural chemicals, which IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances) captures by passing an inert gas through a sealed vessel. It then analyses the constituents in order to reproduce the scent -- an elusive goal. Traces of hard-to-identify elements are essential contributors to the total fragrance as perceived by the human nose.
Geosmin & Rosaphen is a project that comprises a CMYK print of a magazine advertisement published by the IFF (quoted above), promoting technological advancements that allow smell molecules to be captured and accurately emulated. The screenprint is paired with four distinct scents that contain natural tinctures made from plant cuttings taken from the Sea Foam Home apartment. Other fragrant components include: sweet basil, matsutake, bois des landes, aloe, pink pepper, patchouli, salt, ozone, Geosmin (the smell of wet soil) and Rosaphen (the formula found in most rose-scented cosmetics).
Over the course of an intimate gathering and dinner hosted at Sea Foam Home, the scents prompted conversations about manufactured experiences of nature; about the memories and synesthetic experiences evoked by each fragrance; about the circulation and consumption of harvested goods; and about the extinction and preservation of various species and specimens.
