Olfactive Portraits

2005-2007



This, the third part of a study by Laurent Fiévet on the work of Alfred Hitchcock, Essence of the Image/Olfactive portraits recaptures the spirit of the exhibitions Continuations of Hitchcock and Tests of Time presented for the first time in Finland in Kiasma Contemporary Art museum and Hyvinkää Fine Art museum during the winter 2003-2004. As in his previous works, Laurent Fiévet creates a dialogue between some shots extracted from the films of the British director and the famous paintings that might have inspired them.

Essence of the Image/Olfactive portraits deals with the idea that perfumes and smells are suggested in the films. Revealed in the confrontation between film and painting, there are transcribed in each installation.

The project tries to define the perfumes used by the main characters in the late films of Alfred Hitchcock. Conceived as a metaphor of fascination with the Image, the feelings that it evokes in the viewer and its suggestive power, the perfumes invite the audience to explore, in alternative ways, some of the most famous films of our western cultural heritage.

Through this sensory experiment, the installations bequest other important ideas: the denseness of the film image, its link with sculpture, the nature of the fade-in effect, of the cut effect, the relationship between the viewer and the work. In this way, the Olfactive portraits reassess the viewer all the questions investigated by Laurent Fiévet in his previous works.

The perfumes made for each portrait were created with Alexis Dadier, perfume designer, with the support of Mane Industry (France).

Vendôme, Chapelle St Jacques

Propeller Portrait
(2007)

The Hague, Galerie Ramakers

Portrait with violets
(2006)

Vendôme, Chapelle St Jacques

Tide Foam Portrait
(2007)

Paris, Subway, St Lazare station

Portrait with narcissus
(2006)

The Hague, Galerie Ramakers

Portrait with a Fly
(2006)

Vila do Conde, Solar Galeria de Arte cinemática

Lovely Memories
(2007)

Copyright © 2016 Laurent Fiévet