Dear Shaded Viewers,
This evening I went to visit The Droplet for the opening of the second edition of AD at Monnaie de Paris. While there I had a chance to chat with Segundo Broggi, the General Manager of the perfume brand the Harmonist and the artist who created the droplet, Marcos Lutyens. Their ongoing collaboration started with the element of water: the source of all life on our planet. First a little about the Harmonist, the brand is inspired by the ancient Chinese philosophy of creating inner and outer balance between the five fundmental elements: fire, water, wood, metal and earth. The Droplet clearly is about water and reflects upon the urgency of water issues on our planet. The Droplet is built out of aluminium tubing 12 m high and 6 m wide and will travel the world as an installation for conferences, performances and awareness-raising events putting a focus on the global concerns of water. The project will be on going for the next ten years. An intense sound design accompanies the structure and lets talk about these amazing perfumes, however the particular ones at the exhibition are not for sale but ten signature scents are available at their shop. The Harmonist created four perfumes for this installation that are absolutely captivating: Paris Under Water: brackish, dark, dirty water with the floating remains of human civilization….I love these descriptions and the scents are completely transporting. Another..Paris in the industrial Revolution: cold metals and smoke, washing powder and roses of the socialist movement. Who ever dreamed these up is a poet..and it is not just the words the scents are powerful. Paris in 1789 Gunpowder, cannons, guns, smoke and the Human Tang of Fear…and honestly, these scents convey the emotions and lastly, Paris Before Man: green, woody and mossy, paris before the full impact of man could be felt on the environment. Between the draughts and the floods…and the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Action…nothing could be more timely than this installation.
The artist behind The Droplet is Marcos Lutyens. His work focuses on consciousness creating narratives between humanity and the environment and all living systems. His first major piece related to climate-change was launched at London’s Royal Academy of Arts exhibition ‘Earth: Art of a changing world’ in 2009. Since then, Lutyens has been working in collaboration with many scientists in the sphere of biology and neuroscience, to help us experience how deeply rooted tendencies of survival and co-existence can be accessed through art and science. Click on the video above and let him tell you his own story. I highly recommend you pass by AD Interiors at Monnaie de Paris and experience this installation.
Later,
Diane
