1 WOODCHURCH ROAD LONDON NW6 3PL, Goldsmiths College, Masters final exhibition, London, UK (1994)
1 Woodchurch Road, London NW6 3PL
1994-2008
Smell sculpture
This sculpture is named after a location in London where Maciá lived and worked during the 1990s. His neighbours included people of Irish, Lebanese and English ancestry, who all held different tastes. Consisting of five metal rubbish bins, '1 Woodchurch Road, London NW6 3PL' presents a cross-section of smells that Maciá found most provocative and characteristic of the building. One smells of naftalin (mothballs), another olive oil, a third Listerine mouthwash, the fourth eucalyptus, and a fifth baby powder. People are invited to lift the top of the cans (echoing the artist’s own method of research) and inhale the vaporous substances. In a kind of sociological shorthand, these olfactory clues hint at diverse personalities and lifestyles, whether it is that olive oil connotes a Mediterranean sensibility or mouthwash evidences an excessive concern with personal hygiene. As visitors sniff the contents of each container, they can reflect upon how a sense of community develops from a heterogeneous mix of identities.
Goldsmiths College, Masters final exhibition, London, UK (1994)
1994-2008
Smell sculpture
This sculpture is named after a location in London where Maciá lived and worked during the 1990s. His neighbours included people of Irish, Lebanese and English ancestry, who all held different tastes. Consisting of five metal rubbish bins, '1 Woodchurch Road, London NW6 3PL' presents a cross-section of smells that Maciá found most provocative and characteristic of the building. One smells of naftalin (mothballs), another olive oil, a third Listerine mouthwash, the fourth eucalyptus, and a fifth baby powder. People are invited to lift the top of the cans (echoing the artist’s own method of research) and inhale the vaporous substances. In a kind of sociological shorthand, these olfactory clues hint at diverse personalities and lifestyles, whether it is that olive oil connotes a Mediterranean sensibility or mouthwash evidences an excessive concern with personal hygiene. As visitors sniff the contents of each container, they can reflect upon how a sense of community develops from a heterogeneous mix of identities.
Presented at:
Odour Limits at Esther M. Klein Art Gallery, Philadelphia, USA (2008)Goldsmiths College, Masters final exhibition, London, UK (1994)