This section includes the explanation of the processes I have been conducting within my work in progress, explaining both the successful development and ideas that remain a part of the progress without making it into the final outcome.
I. generating the ideas
The idea of the relationship between the eyes and the nose has been developing within my practice since the 2020/21 project 'The Eyes, The Nose' and the introduction of the Visual Language of Smell, which I describe as the ability to see with the nose and smell with the eyes.
Differently from my previous projects that examine the visual side of the smell and its relationship with memory, instincts and perception, my current project 'faux-naïf' aims to introduce the geographical element to the aforementioned topic.
Commencing with the Research in Practice module and the self-titled project it begins to explore the connection between odour perception and geographic location.
II. mediums and materials
Having black&white 35mm film as my main medium, I was initially planning on using it for the project faux-naïf, referring back to the main ideas I was aiming to convey with the medium, such as not using colour photography to avoid the colour-scent associations.
After introducing the element of geographic locations to the work, I prioritised the authenticity of the ability to use the photographs that were taken in the places I am writing about in the narrative's timeline. The major priority here was the archive dating back to as early as 2020 and the ability to use it.
The biggest twist in deciding on the medium was using a mobile app 'NOMO Cam'. The app focuses on point-and-shoot styled images, applying analogue filters to photographs, allowing the user to try features such as double exposure. The main contradiction of the choice was the question of authenticity and the low-brow quality of such content, however, after researching artist such as Hito Steyerl, especially her essay 'In Defence of the Poor Image', I was eager to use the visual content in order to show the importance of the archive and the post-digital irony that brings back the old, the analogue, to the new, the digital.
https://www.e-flux.com/journal/10/61362/in-defense-of-the-poor-image/
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Using the pro version of the app allowed me to not only photograph in real time using the analogue effect, but also upload the media I have in my archives, which refers to the olfactory time travel to geographic locations and visual memories of them.
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III. the format
Starting from the photograph format, the initial idea of the project outcome was to have the photographs projected onto the wall, accompanied with a zine including the same photographs.
However, after an attempt to make rather 'clean-looking' zine, I realised that it was not working the way I was expecting. Instead of looking clean and minimalistic, it looked plain and undeveloped.
When rethinking the format and the layout, I was also considering the paper finish I could possibly use, and, to avoid the magazine-looking publication, I decided to try and use the thin newspaper-quality paper, which gave me an idea to redesign the zine into a newspaper format too.
Instead of having a layout that reminds the viewer of a magazine with an article, I wanted my work to have a different message. I believe that the format of a newspaper conveys the idea that is similar to the creator of the scent I have based my project around - Frédéric Malle, who appreciates the old school approach. There is a very specific quote from his interview that inspired me to follow the same approach too: when referring to one of his perfumes, 'Music for a While', Frédéric said: 'It's very theatrical. But people don't live like that anymore; they don't dress that way, they don't move that way'. I was always very inspired by Frédéric's fascination of the old and the way he finds inspiration in something that is dead to other people. Using a printed newspaper format refers to such approach in a way of fascinating something people rarely use today; instead of reading a printed newspaper, majority of the people, especially younger generation uses mobile devices and social media as a news and entertainment source, because people don't live that way, they don't read that way.
After redesigning the zine, I have also made some changes to the content I want to be projected. I realised that having the same images as in the zine projected onto the wall would not make as much sense and would look repetitive, plus, I had an idea I wanter to try out for months which, I believe, eventually became on of the strongest aspects of the project.
After finding Wolfgang Tillman's work Freischwimmer in 2019 and looking at manual manipulation of "light-sources and light-emitting tools" over light-sensitive paper in the darkroom, I was really fascinated by the idea of 'cameraless photography'. Such phenomenon reminded me of the approach of the Visual Language of Smell - to 'see' smells without them being present at the moment, to 'capture' them without a camera.
For months I had this idea I was eager to bring to life - to have a perfume sprayed on the empty 35mm film, have that film dried and scanned. Even though I was always wondering what the outcome of such activity would look like, I realised that, in this case, the activity itself is much more suitable for the project, which lead to the decision of making a short film that I will project onto the wall instead of the photographs.
The action of spraying the film onto different spots of the film roll contributes to the idea of making memories of places with smells and 'capturing' the smells from the memories of geographic locations. Just like the film from my previous project with mixing raw materials from my memories and referring to them as perfume notes, this film also includes very straightforward actions that are actually a metaphor.
IV. the installation
When it came to putting together the installation, there was some experimentation that resulted in a better outcome. First change applied to the installation was to get rid of the table in front of the wall where the film was projected. Even though it felt more welcoming to look through the zine, the table did not belong there as its relationship with the film was not working. Another reason why it felt better to have the zines on the floor was because it gave me space to display the perfume that is the centre of the narrative. Not only display, but also let the viewer touch it, smell it and explore the bottle.
As a result of such change, the work had a stronger 'installation' look to it and, most importantly, became much more interactive. People realising they can take the perfume, smell it while watching the film and reading the zine opened up numerous variations of the order of those activities, as well as the length, and, as a result, final reactions.
To summarise, I believe that this experimental approach taking form of an installation is just the beginning of 'faux-naïf'. The next stage for the project is going to be exploring the outcomes made during the recorded performance. I am planning to develop and scan the outcomes in order to look into them and see what kind of conversation and experimentation possibility that opens up. I am also planning to experiment with the film developer and mix it with a perfume, to then use when developing images.
Even though 'faux-naïf' took a very unexpected shape of being personal and intimate, I believe that the end result of the audience reaction proves the subjective authenticity of the topic. Thinking about the importance of smells and olfaction not only makes people more conscious about odorous solutions, but also reveals the side of their memory they don't always realise existed; a very subconscious, primal phenomenon of the Visual Language of Smell.