Perfumed Planets #2 – The Smell of the Sky
Uranus – or Ouranos as the Ancient Greeks would have it – is a primal personification of the sky. The sky is an intangible, ethereal entity that possesses a certain mystery; it is a platform we use to place our contemplative, reflective thoughts, which enables us to associate with it from a philosophical standpoint.
So, how does the fine art perfumer contemplate the sky? Can a scented equivalent for the sky be constructed, and does it translate into a viable scented experience for an audience? Well, the mystical quality the sky bears parallels with fragrance; both possess an intangibility but, if we place them together, perhaps we can establish a firmer understanding of both.
But quite how this manifest itself remains to be seen. intuitively I thought about constructing scented equivalents of the colour blue. I thought about using fresh, clean fragrance notes that, when experienced, would conjure up the image of blue. A sound enough starting point but not one I’m particularly excited by.
But over the last week, something struck me – In Greek Mythology, Ouranos is the father of Kronos, and Kronos is the father of my third planet, Jupiter (or Zeus). Therefore, perhaps I need to devise a scented experience that encapsulates all 3 Gods in a manner akin to how family connotations, nostalgia and the intrinsic link between scent and memory plays its part in why people buy perfume.
Therefore, I pose to myself new questions. Namely, could a scented experience be constructed that appraises the relationships between these Gods while retaining the domestic preconceptions we associate with perfume? And simultaneously, would placing the domestic tenancies of perfume within the context of Greek Mythology reveal the capacity fragrance has for narrative, symbolism and art?
Perhaps, but right now things are a little cloudy…
