SINGAPORE, Nov 19 — An unusual perfume bar has sprung up at the Singapore Art Museum. It has scents nobody would want to dab on his wrist, although some might cling to his clothes.
Filipino artist Christina Goldie Poblador has created the smells of a city: Think whiffs of gasoline or rotten eggs, which is supposed to remind people of government. There are more pleasant fragrances too, which are associated with friendship and family.
Her fascinating mixed-media installation work, comprising 30 perfumes in handmade glass bottles, is titled Ang Halimuyak Ng Ma-I or The Fragrance Of Ma-I, the pre-colonial name of the Philippines.
The “fragrances” were created as part of her studio art graduation project at the University of Philippines in March. It created so much interest that it has travelled to three locations in Manila and made it to a prestigious Filipino art showcase here.
The 22-year-old says: “In a way, I feel that I do not deserve to be here. You have the works of the Filipino masters on show here. I am ecstatic and, at the same time, humbled. I am sharing my memories and my country's as well.”
The project took her almost a year to put together. The toughest part was coming to grips with smells and fragrances and looking for ways to create them.
She experimented for months, sourcing materials, recollecting smells and then locking herself in a chemistry laboratory to work out the formula to create and make the smells last.
When asked about the strangest scent on display, she picked Opulence, the result of several experiments at her university's chemistry department.
Despite the name, the pungent smell is of something so sweet, it is on the verge of rotting, almost like something good gone wrong.
She says: “This scent refers to the time of martial law in the Philippines in the 1970s. This was before I was born but I grew up with many stories about those years.
“When I was creating this, my thought was: What would those times have smelt like?”
In fact, the idea of a perfume bar came out of her fascination with scents and how they help one recall good and bad memories.
So the installation is not just about off-putting smells such as Squalor. There is also Pahinga, which means “rest” in Tagalog and contains coconut oil.
She says: “This pure smell of coconut brings back happy memories of carefree days on the beach and my childhood. When I was a child, I would get a coconut oil massage every night before I went to sleep. I fancy this scent so much that I wear it daily now.”
Her lawyer father and dentist mother are proud of her fragrances. She says: “When I was growing up, I secretly enjoyed my mother's perfume collection. I was always opening her perfume bottles, enjoying the smells and spraying a bit at a time.
“I think the pleasant smells in the bar are triggered by those secret yet unforgettable visits.” — The Straits Times
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