SHEZAD DAWOOD, 2023
ICONOFLY has curated the scent that accompanies the exhibition Night in the Garden of Love which premiered May 17 2023 at Wiels in Brussels and which will unveil this Fall at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
Developed by Shezad Dawood and inspired by the creative output of African-American musician, composer, allamah/polymath Yusef Lateef, the exhibition features music and a selection of drawings by Lateef together with five new, interconnected works by Dawood: a VR experience, a suite of painted textiles, a garden of algorithmic plants growing digitally in response to a series of live improvisational music sessions, costume-sculptures and live choreography.
Shezad Dawood was born in 1974 in London, where he lives and works. He trained at Central St Martin’s and the Royal College of Art before undertaking a PhD at Leeds Metropolitan University. Dawood is a Senior Research Fellow in Experimental Media at the University of Westminster. Selected solo exhibitions include: Barakat Contemporary, Seoul (2023); Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai (2021); Kai Art Center, Tallinn (2020); New Art Exchange, Nottingham (2020); The Bluecoat, Liverpool (2019); MOCA, Toronto (2019); FriezeLIVE, London (2019); Kunstverein, Munich (2019); Rubin Museum of Art, New York (2018); Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice (2017); Pioneer Works, Brooklyn (2015); Parasol Unit, London (2014). Selected group exhibitions include: Folkestone Triennial (2021); Guggenheim, New York (2021); Southbank Centre, London (2020-21); WIELS, Brussels (2020); Manifesta 13 (2020); Lahore Biennial (2020); Dhaka Art Summit (2020); Sharjah Biennial 14, (2019); Gwangju Biennale, (2018); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2016); MOMA, New York (2015); Taipei Biennial (2014); Marrakech Biennial (2014); MACBA Barcelona (2014); Busan Biennale (2010); Tate Triennial, London (2009); Venice Biennale (2009). www.shezaddawood.com
The exhibition comes with a unique scent, Xyloflor, created especially for the occasion by Dawood in collaboration with the perfumer Nicolas Bonneville, bringing to life the various plant notes of the Garden’s collectively imagined ecosystem. The perfume - with hints of jasmine and brugmansia - is housed in a specially designed ceramic vase developed with Ofumum.
Xyloflori s a dreamlike bouquet. Fusing wood (xylon) and flora, the fragrance is named after an invented, mutant word - Xyloflor.
TOP: Bergamot, Basil, Pear, Black pepper, Jasmine Sambac Nature Print (NP)
MIDDLE: Jasmine Sambac absolute, Brugmansia NP, Passiflora NP, Queen of the Night NP, Foxgloves (digitalis) Artificial Intelligence AI, Edelweiss (Lion’s Foot) AI, Wishbone (Torenia Fournieri) AI, Daisybushes (Ostéospermum) AI
BASE: Cedarwood, Patchouli, Musk
Not all of the plants referenced by Dawood and Lateef have a discernible scent. Therefore, using the garden’s potential as a site of creation, and conceived with the help of Artificial Intelligence and Headspace technology, this scent traverses the digital and natural world. Using Firmenich’s AI database, Dawood described an embodiment and association to the plants, enacting a call and response, which translated into the corresponding scent.
In the exhibition Xyloflor is presented in a large ceramic vase using bamboo reeds for capillary diffusion, releasing the scent into the night garden, immersing you within Dawood and Lateef’s metaphysical space.
A limited series of artist signed edition soliflor and scent are available to purchase.