When I was contacted by Iberchem to curate their booth I delved into their brand identity and began brainstorming a concept that matches their artistic vision. The brand was very keen on collaborating with a local artist to embody the vision of their booth this year at Beauty World Middle East, located at the Trade Center.
The vision organically found itself to an experience that activates all senses. Ultimately leading to the concept “Fusion: Artistic Synthesis” that coupled perfumery and painting.
Sonu Sultania was the artist proposed and selected for this experience, as her artistic practice accents the fluidity and creativity of the scents. Prior to the trade fair, that took place in Dubai between Oct 31st & Nov 2nd, Sonu was sent a few samples of the perfume to immerse herself with the scents she was bringing to life. I was fortunate enough to witness Sonu go through the experience of translating the fragrances to paintings. I sat with Sonu over a coffee to discuss the experience.
How did you translate the scents into colors?
“It’s hard to put in words the experience I feel, but ultimately I close my eyes, smell the fragrance and let the elements speak to me.” Sonu begins to see the colors and forms come together while smelling the fragrance. The process Sonu described worked very well as each painting accurately reflected the scent.
Watching the scents come to life was a very unique experience, especially for the perfumers that created the scents exhibited. Ana Gomez, the perfumer that created “Abstract Vision” agreed. As she joyfully watched Sonu bring her perfume to life Ana said “these are exactly the colors I would relate to my scent”.
Ana Gomez was nominated for “Perfumer of the year” at this years Beauty World Middle East.
What are your thoughts on a fragrance company collaborating with an artist?
“It is a very unique concept and I believe it should happen more often”. I agreed with her on that point. Throughout the fair I had various conversations with the perfumers discussing how their field, although very scientific, has an art to it. Coupling their perfume art with a visual form such as painting brought the booth to life.
The artworks painted by Sonu Sultania during Beauty World Middle East were based on the six fragrances created by the perfumers at Iberchem. All six paintings will be up for auction soon and the proceeds collected will be donated to Aldeas Inantiles SOS Espana.
If you are interested, follow @nasijart on instagram to find out when the auction goes live.
