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Post by Ainslie Walker

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CHANDLER BURR DOWN UNDER

Yes, that’s right, if you haven’t heard Mr Burr himself is gracing our shores – He has agreed to an APJ interview PLUS the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne will be showing:

Hyper-Natural: Scent from Art to Design
25 Sept 2014 – 30 Nov 2014 | NGV International | Free entry

Photo Stolen Flickr

Press Release:
The NGV garden has never smelt and felt so seductive, replete with a scented clouds, 16,000 daffodils and 2,000 violas and pansies, come spring it will be a blissful sanctuary with a one-of-a-kind sensory experience.

A maze of clustered clouds will offer a sensory exploration of scent design when an installation and exhibition by New York curator of olfactory art Chandler Burr opens in the back garden of the NGV this Spring.

Hyper-Natural: Scent from Art to Design will present seven small scent stations shrouded in man-made clouds and scattered throughout the NGV’s garden. Each station will house one of seven specially selected synthetic scent molecules and be paired with a major olfactory work of design, or perfume, in which that molecule is a vital design element.

These seven molecular scents tell the story of olfactory design and innovation, offering visitors a visceral exploration of this little considered design medium. The experience begins with the first molecule created in the 1850s and weaves its way through the misty landscape to the sophisticated molecular scents of today.

Chandler Burr commented, ‘In Hyper-Natural we consider the beauty of synthetics and their ability to free the designer from the constraints of nature, allowing for previously unimaginable designs, that introduce abstraction, surrealism and photo-realism to the design medium.’

Director of the NGV Tony Ellwood commented, ‘Like any art form or design discipline, the creation of a scent results from curiosity, experimentation and innovation. Yet, perfume and scent creation is rarely appreciated as the thoughtful design process it is. For this reason we are thrilled to be presenting the first Australian exhibition to recognise scent as an important medium of artistic creation and design production.’

Curated by former New York Times perfume critic and author Chandler Burr, Hyper-Natural introduces us to this thoughtful, intricate, fascinating and under-acknowledged medium of design.

Mr Ellwood added, ‘We are delighted to be collaborating with Chandler Burr on this extraordinary project. Chandler’s insights into scent and its relationship with design will shift visitors’ perceptions in a poetic and profound way.’

In addition to the exhibition, a program of scent design events led by Burr will allow visitors to experience the world of olfactory art from many perspectives.

Burr will present a keynote lecture examining the global nature of the scent industry and the complex world of technology, nature and creativity, which coalesce to create any successful scent.

Burr wrote a seminal feature on scent in the New Yorker magazine in 2005 and has published books including The Emperor of Scent and The Perfect Scent. Burr is currently Curator of the Department of Olfactory Art at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York.

Burr commented, ‘A key inspiration for the project is to get visitors to move beyond mere emotional responses and memories and to recognise and think critically about scent design.’

Photo Stolen Vroman’s Bookstore

PROGRAMS

Keynote Address: Hyper-Natural: Scent from Art to Design
Wed 24 Sep, 6pm | NGV International
Join Chandler Burr as he reveals the thoughtful, intricate and fascinating medium of scent.
Speaker: Chandler Burr, Curator, Department of Olfactory Art, New York
Cost | $20 A / $16 M / $18 C
Venue | Clemenger BBDO Auditorium, Ground Level (enter North Entrance, via Arts Centre forecourt)

Yoga in the Garden
Fri 3 Oct & 7 Nov, 7.30–8.30am | NGV International
Relax and unwind in the NGV Garden before the world awakes.
Cost | Free
Venue | NGV Garden, enter Garden Gate (via the Arts Centre forecourt)

Yoga for Kids
Thu 25 Sep, 10.30–11.15am | NGV International
Relax and unwind with your family in the garden as part of the exhibition Hyper-Natural. Ages 3+ recommended.
Cost | Free
Venue | NGV Garden, enter Garden Gate (via Arts Centre forecourt)
Parent/carer supervision required

Curator’s Perspective
Thu 25 Sep, 12.30pm | NGV International
Join curators for an introduction to the exhibition.
Speakers Chandler Burr, Curator, Department of Olfactory Art, New York and Ewan McEoin, Co- curator and NGV Design Consultant
Cost | Free
Venue | NGV Garden, Ground Level

The NGV acknowledges the generous support of a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

Supported by
Guerlain