Created during my residency at Orchard Square, Sheffield last September as a mere piece of mise en scène, I feel as though Poison Bible has not been afforded the attention it deserves as a stand alone piece of work as […]
Last weekend I was part of a group exhibition at the Old Holy Trinity Church, Wentworth called ‘Measure’ – which looks at the human soul. My own offering was a scented narrative that suggests you can weigh your soul against […]
Scents of Our Time aims to reveal the capacity contemporary candle making has for social comment and responsive creative action.
Last week I made a bespoke perfume based on coffee. Yes. coffee. Now, I know what you’re thinking – ‘Michael! last month you were making perfumes about planets, and this week, out of nowhere, you’ve made a perfume about coffee?! […]
Well I had it all planned out didn’t I? I declared but a few weeks ago that I’d use this blogging space to assess and appraise each of the three planets I’m going to devise a scented experience for in […]
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 […]
Perfumed Planets #1 – Saturn and Sillage As my work for my upcoming solo show in Blackburn is ticking along nicely I thought it appropriate to dedicate the next three weeks arriving at some important creative decisions concerning my upcoming […]
This week I have been fluctuating between deciding on final fragrance designs for my upcoming exhibition at Bureau and charting a course of action for my olfactive endeavours in 2019. Perhaps being constantly concerned with past, present and future is […]
Perfume as Practice SS18 at Bureau, Blackburn feels rather more imminent now that I have designed a poster for it: The process of designing and distributing posters for exhibitions – particularly solo shows – does add a certain weight to […]
Last Saturday I visited the venue for my next Perfume as Practice solo exhibition – Bureau Gallery in Blackburn. As with any space, Bureau Blackburn comes with its own set of quirks, nuances and challenges. Chiefly, the space is a […]
You find me in a somewhat reflective mood, such is the mindset that the last month of the year brings. I’ve been thinking about the successes and failures of the last 12 months in the hope that I can learn […]
The end of the year is not only a time for reflection but also for proactivity as I intend to use this period to secure opportunities and exhibitions for 2018 and 2019. I feel more equipped than ever to make […]
Before September this year I didn’t know what my physical limits were when considering my career as an artist. Since the beginning I have adopted a somewhat cavalier ‘I’ll get things done at all costs’ attitude that, by and large, […]
I am still processing all of my olfactory activity from the end September until now. It’s been a period of extreme intensity, which has seen me deliver a residency, a solo show, two group shows and 5 workshops around the UK […]
Oh, how I wish for just a few days to decompress and evaluate this month’s creative endeavours; to get to grips with the successes and failures of my Orchard Square residency; to recover from a weekend of installing and taking […]
October will see me utilise this blog for documenting, describing and assessing my Orchard Square artist’s residency. The residency affords me one month housed in what is nominally a retail unit in the heart of Sheffield city centre. Positioned in […]
My perfumed self portrait is complete and currently nestled between 15 other works in an exhibition curated and devised by myself and artist Sharon Mossbeck entitled Alternative Portraits The aim of Alternative Portraits is to both investigate and celebrate innovative […]
Through an established process of asking artists ‘Why do you make art?’ then using the response received to inform the use of fragrances, I have been making ‘perfume portraits’ of other artists for over 2 years, amassing 40 perfumes so […]
This October sees me take up an artists’ residence in orchard Square – a retail unit in Sheffield. The residency will be open to the public, and as such it provides a means to develop my body of work and add […]
The exploration of scent in art is seldom practised by artists and, as a result, isn’t particularly acknowledged by arts venues, organisations or funding bodies. As such it comes with a unique problem – how do you make scent in […]
Being a fine art perfumer, I occupy a somewhat precarious niche. I’m not in a position to claim I am a perfumer as I do not have any direct experience in the profession. Yet through a combination of research, exploration, […]
Approaching perfumery from a fine art context, this blog describes how scent is a viable means of communication.
