COMPOSITION IN THREE NOTES / REFLECTIONS ON UNCONSCIOUSNESS. at MGK SIEGEN and TYROLEAN STATE MUSEUM - FERDINANDEUM
Composition in Three Notes / Reflections on Unconsciousness
Presented at:
“ODOR. IMMATERIAL SCULPTURES” AT: MGKSIEGEN, MUSEUM FÜR GEGENWARTSKUNST SIEGEN IN COOPERATION WITH THE TIROLER LANDESMUSEEN FERDINANDEUM AUSTRIA, CURATED BY THOMAS THIEL.
Oswaldo Maciá describes his works as sculptural compositions arising from images, objects, sounds and, above all, smells. The artist explores a (post)colonial history of smell, investigating the migration of smells which is always accompanied by a big lacuna and the disappearance of local knowledge. In doing so, he opens up different perspectives on the global changes and smells that shape cultures.
Composition in Three Notes/Reflections on Unconsciousness is a based on the scents of:
Balsamo tree, Myroxylon balsamum pereirae, found in the wild forest of El Salvador a tree native form Central America, Gaiacwood tree, Bulnesia sarmientoi from the unique biodiversity of El Chaco, Paraguay, South America, and Green Cardamom, Elettaria Cardamomum cultivated in Guatemala, native from India.
The work was created in collaboration with Elisa Aragón, Nelexia, Guatemala. Rather than using synthetic molecules in the piece, the artist works with raw material which bear a long cultural and ritual tradition in South America.
These materials can be read like a footprint of a specific place. Since colonisation, the aromatic substances have been appropriated in various ways and are associated with corruption and challenging working conditions as well as with the trade and production chain of the perfume industry. Using these natural fragrances as a basis and with the help of a yellow-edged room reminiscent of the
pigmented cells of an olfactory epithelium, Maciá sets out to create an unfiltered and yet simultaneously conscious scent experience.