Scent Constellation, a permanent installation at Le Grand Musée du Parfum in Paris, is a dynamic, spatial, multi sensorial art piece that simultaneously represents the perfumer’s organ and visualises the process of creating a scent.
The space consists of the metaphorical organ which is separate to the perfumer (the spectator) and contains the atomised haze that is required to see the alchemy of this extraordinary performance. Five perfume typologies are represented; Eau de Cologne, Oriental, Fougères, Floral, and Chypre, each type is interpreted by a moving constellation of light in a mesmerising cloud between the prismatic nodes. The formulaic relationship between the perfumer’s assistant, the perfumer and up to 200 raw ingredients are represented by a web of crisp lines of light and a corresponding soundscape. The network of lights is inspired by the precise formulas, molecules or DNA and by the early light paintings of Frank Gilbreth who pioneered the study of ‘time and motion at work’. The generative light and sound symphony creates a poetic visual metaphor for the process of imagining new perfumes.
An algorithm generates a dynamic network of traced lines of light, which scribe via prisms to create crystalline-like facets, that represent the mathematical relationships between the commonly used ingredients. The soundscape is created from a library of sounds developed in response to the scent families, and the decay and attack of each sound is representative of the stability and duration of the raw materials as they are mixed for the final perfume composition.
Credits:
Le Grand Musée du Parfum – client
Jason Bruges Studio – design and installion
Daniel Sonabend – sound designer
Photo Credit: James Medcraft
www.jasonbruges.com