Scent and Protest
Aleesa Cohene
Residency: 2016 / 2018
March 7 – April 15, 2016
at IAO in LA
A six-week residency in which the artist professionalized a series of scents made relating to a past project, and developed scent components on new work.
July 28 – August 8, 2018
at Mediamatic in Amsterdam
In a nine day residency that plays a vital part of the collaborative ‘Art Olfaction Amsterdam’ at Mediamatic, Aleesa Cohene will further explore her ongoing investigations into the role scent plays into protest and civil disobedience.
Cohene has been researching effective antidotes for scent based weapons for the past three years, and will continue in the months leading up to the residency. Her research will continue with a hands-on component in the IAO’s experimental scent laboratory at Mediamatic. There, she will create a series of experimental scent formulas to act as neutralizers for scent-based crowd control methods such as ‘The Skunk’ and pepper spray.
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ABOUT ALEESA COHENE
Aleesa Cohene’s work with video, sculpture, and scent reconfigures and reframes cinematic material to investigate the clichés, codes, and stereotypes that make up dominant cultural narratives. Her work has been exhibited in festivals and galleries internationally, with recent solo exhibitions at Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography (Toronto), Gallery Suvi Lehtinen (Berlin), Glasmoog Gallery (Cologne), and Reykjavik Photography Museum. She holds a Masters of Visual Studies from the University of Toronto and completed a fellowship at the Kunsthochschule für Medien (Cologne) under German experimental filmmaker Matthias Müller. She has participated in artist residencies in Canada, Denmark, and the Netherlands, and has won grants and prizes in Canada and Europe. Her work is part of the permanent collection of Oakville Galleries and numerous private collections.
Aleesa Cohene previously was in residence at the Institute for Art and Olfaction in Los Angeles between March 7 and April 15, 2016, developing scent and video work inspired by and made from Kathy Bates’ performances.
Learn more about Aleesa Cohene’s work on her website.
Photo credit: Alexander Coggin
ABOUT ART OLFACTION AMSTERDAM
Mediamatic and the Institute for Art and Olfaction (IAO) team up for a summer program in Amsterdam, exploring innovative topics around olfaction.
Both Mediamatic and IAO have an organizational focus on exploring future outcomes and contemporary applications in science, art, and the senses. Between July 16 and August 15, 2018, the IAO’s Los Angeles team will be in residence at Mediamatic in Amsterdam in the first part of an ongoing collaboration between the two organizations.
Through thematic collaborative programming at Mediamatic’s Oosterdok waterfront location, we will combine our interests and communities to investigate new models for intellectual property, and to celebrate storytelling, future flavors, scent-making, and much more.
All events take place at Mediamatic.
Location:
Dijksgracht 6
1019 BS Amsterdam
Directions
Art Olfaction Amsterdam is possible through the generous support of IFF, Pochpac, and dublab.