This summer will see a new exhibition open at Somerset House celebrating contemporary cult perfumes that are shaking up scent culture.
Perfume: A Sensory Journey Through
Contemporary Scent opens on 21st June and runs to 17th September in the East Wing Galleries and will be a multi-sensory exhibition presenting ten extraordinary perfumes – and the
pioneering perfumers who created them – from the past two decades, which are changing perceptions of scent today.
From Antoine Lie’s Sécretions Magnifiques for État Libre D’Orange to Geza Schoen’s Molecule 01 for Escentric Molecules, an emerging group of creatives are pushing perfumes into more daring olfactory and cultural directions, challenging the classic definitions of fragrance.
The exhibition will begin with a brief overview of the origins of modern perfumery and an introduction to the historical innovators of the industry, from Chypre de Coty (1917) – often cited as a first of its kind and the reference point for numerous 20th-century perfumes – to CK
One (1994), the original shared fragrance that led the ‘clean’ scent trend.
The exhibition will then explore the modern movement and focus on the ten trailblazers which are inspiring and influencing the perfume industry today.
Each perfume and its perfumer will have a dedicated space in the galleries so visitors can truly immerse themselves into the stories of the scents and have the freedom to contribute their personal interpretation.
It will also feature a fully functioning and open perfume laboratory, where visitors can interact with and get instruction from professional perfumers, seeing up close the skill and science of the perfumer and even trying to turn their own hand to it.
There will be an extensive events programme in accompaniment to the exhibition (details announced in the spring), as well as exclusive exhibition tours which can be arranged in addition to any private event hosted within Somerset House.
Opening Times: Monday, Tuesday, Saturday & Sundays 10.00-18.00 (last admission 17.00), Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 11.00-20.00 (last admission 19.00) at East Wing Galleries, Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
Tickets: £11/£9 (concessions), available at www.somersethouse.org.uk
Love Laurel x
