EXHIBITIONS
TORRANCE ART MUSEUM | JANUARY 22 – MARCH 12, 2022
LYNCHLAND: Genre, Auteurism and a Fish in the Percolator
Susan Ankersen was invited to create a custom scent for the exhibition and her intention is touch you with scent. Her work is an invisible painting to illuminate the experience and engage your senses to connect your memory to the experience. Her piece “Lost Illusion” was made especially for the exhibit and is diffused into the space. Composed in 2021 intended to be a Dark, Sexy, Earthy and Surreal with a touch of disturbing……
Strange and beautiful, the films of David Lynch vary in subject, but are linked by a unique dreamlike logic that has captivated audiences and established itself as its own genre. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “Lynchian” as “juxtaposing surreal or sinister elements with mundane, everyday environments, and for using compelling visual images to emphasize a dreamlike quality of mystery or menace.”
Lynchland: Genre, Auteurism and a Fish in the Percolator* explores unheimlich artwork that could be considered fitting within the genre of David Lynch’s films. The show is not a tribute to David Lynch and does not feature “fan art”. Rather, it is an exploration of his genre, and how artwork that has a sense of the uncanny relates to how we understand something to be “Lynchian”.
This show explores a wide array of artwork that connects to the Lynchian genre. From photography to painting, video to sculpture, visual to olfactory art, Lynchland immerses the audience in the variety of ways the genre manifests in the contemporary art world.
* Referring to an incident in the first episode of Lynch’s Twin Peaks. “Fellas, don’t drink that coffee. You’d never guess…there was a fish in the percolator.”
Curators: Tom Dunn and Steve Wolkoff
Participating artists: Alison Blickle, Polly Borland, Debra Broz, Matt Bucy, Bill Dane, Robert Gober, Tomoo Gokita, Tim Hawkinson, Trulee Hall, Shana Moulton, Penelope Umbrico, Tim Youd.
LONDON DESIGN MUSEUM | Oct 2019 – Feb 2020
MOVING TO MARS
Olfactory Art diffused into the Exhibit Space
MARS is a creation, formulated after studying the molecular compositions said to be found on the planet Mars. Notes includes a sharp gassy sulphury top note, dusty and dry oxidized iron mid notes with a hint of sweetness and continuing with a burned and smokey accord with subtle traces of gun powder.
DESERT RAIN is a scent reminiscent of our home planet. This creation is a reformulation of my Pure Rain fragrance with a few notes added. For this Olfactory experience, I included the original molecule Petrichor, a scent unique to Earth and the scent you smell when rain falls on very dry soil. I found that every person who smelled Pure Rain had a memory of experiencing Earths nature and the freshness and lushness of our planet.
NASA Houston | May 2019
For the SPACE MOON MARS exhibit at NASA Johnson Space Center, the space was diffused with the Earth Memories Scent series.
I created 6 bespoke scents for Mars City Design. Each an earthly fragrance intended to remind us of our beautiful planet Earth. For the travelers on the long trip in the spaceship to other planets, one whiff of these scents will transported you back right back to the smell of fresh cut grass on a quiet Sunday morning or to the barn of a horse farmer out in the countryside etc..
These 6 unique nature inspired scents
Desert Rain, Stargazing Bonfire, Horse Barn, Beach Breeze, Winter Forrest and Fresh Cut Grass. These scents will provide an escape for the traveler, inhale and imagine being back on earth on the long journey in space and on the planet Mars.
OLFACTORY EVENTS | Herman Miller | Los Angeles CA
Photo: Chacha Sikes