Thanatos, a touring multisensory exhibition centring on an original perfume that evokes the scent of a decomposing body discovered in a woodland.
The perfume is the result of a collaboration between artist Eric Fong, perfumer Euan McCall and forensic anthropologist Dr Anna Williams, whose research on the 400+ volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted during human decomposition underpins the project.
Inspired by the observation that some of the decomposition VOCs are identical to some of the natural ingredients used in commercial perfumes, Thanatos is a blend of selected VOCs plus floral and wood scents. It takes the audience on an olfactory journey from the scentscape of an open meadow to the middle of a secluded forest where a decomposing body is discovered.
Cube Gallery, Phoenix, Leicester
Private view: 9 Jan 2020, 6-8pm
Exhibition: 10 Jan – 23 Feb 2020
Panel talk + Workshop: 1 Feb 2020, 1:30pm
Constantine Gallery, Teesside University, Middlesbrough
Exhibition: 26 Feb – 31 Feb 2020 (details to follow)
The Old Operating Theatre, London
Exhibition: 2 Apr – 6 May 2020 (details to follow)
Click here for Phoenix exhibition and event details
The exhibition comprises four distinct but interrelated elements: the perfume Thanatos displayed as a physical product; the scent of Thanatos, experienced through interaction with a sculpture modelled on an autopsy table; The Search, a suspenseful short film of a search for a cadaver in a forest; and photographs of staged crime scenes taken at the Crime Scene House at the Forensic Anthropology Department at Teesside University.
Thanatos considers the bodily processes that occur after death and the advances in forensic science that help us to better understand them.
Collaborators
Dr Anna Williams, Forensic Science Consultant: www.forensicanna.com
Euan McCall, Perfumer: www.jorumlaboratories.co.uk