Dreaming in Smell
by Bernardo Fleming
Nov. 12 to Dec. 2 2021
The Institute for Art and Olfaction is pleased to welcome Bernardo Fleming in his first solo exhibition in our newly relaunched gallery space.
According to a 1998 Canadian study, a minority of surveyed participants reported having aromatic sensations in their dreams. Like that small minority, Fleming often dreams in scent. Waking up in the morning, he takes care to write down his dream memories, as well as any olfactory component experienced during the dream. He then brings his notes to perfumers at IFF and together they create a perfume interpretation.
The result is a set of four fabric sprays that explore and interpret four of Fleming’s dreams, presented in a gentle installation of scented bed linens and pillows, hung on clotheslines and displayed on shelves. In order to experience the work, the visitor must navigate and physically interact with the objects, generating an intimate connection with the dreams themselves, captured – as they are – in fabric.
MEDIA
SCENTS
Dentista – May 2016
with Ricardo Moya
Warm and tight hug against her chest. Tile green lab coat. Her necklace against my cheek. Comfort. Love. Security. Safest place to be. `Dentista` is the smell of a very vivid dream I had about my mother and was the first scented dream I’ve recorded and recreated. In my dream she was coming back from a long day of work at the clinic. I could feel my face pressed against her chest, her necklace against my forehead and the smell of her tile green labcoat. A clean and sharp memory, comforting and warm.
The perfume is constructed around the two clear olfactive references, the clean green floral and sharp aldehyde of the Cabotine de Gres she wore to work every day (I have access to the original formula by Jean-Claude Delville, IFF) overlayered by clove, basil leaf and nutmeg which is the base of Eugenol; a material used to disinfect the surgery material which was a smell distinctive to my mom during working days. Usually associated with negative association of dentists and surgeons, the pungent spicy accord of eugenol in my case brings a comforting and caring feeling, similar to the feeling I had when I woke up the morning after the dream.
Departures – 23 February 2021, Nijmegen
with Anh Ngô Nguyễn Việt
In an empty casino, I smell the damp, moldy and earthy notes from the old carpet. I am waiting for a departure to an unknown destination, and I am experiencing an increasing sense of anxiety. I feel nervous. An intense trail of heavy sweet floral notes and the woody, musky sillage of a group of ladies hits me. They are wearing suffocating perfume and hairspray
The scent hits us with a suffocating floral accord tuberose, jasmine and orange flower followed by the provocative smell of cow manure, which was realistically interpreted with a combination of fecal notes (skatol, indole, para cresol) and acidic notes. Ambertonic creates a link between the florals and the musky, fecal carpet smell.
Dýer Mak’er – 18 September 2021, Nijmegen
with Meabh Mc Curtin
“Oh oh oh oh oh oh/ You don’t have to go, oh oh oh oh oh / You don’t have to go, oh oh oh oh oh.” The cassette tape is playing Houses of the Holy from Led Zeppelin. This is a sensorial polaroid of my transition into manhood. My first trip abroad. Independence. Discovery. Awakening. I see wooden bookshelves in a corner of a bedroom. Piles of books and magazines. colored pencils. I open a window and burn palo santo to hide the smell of youth. Optimistic. Auspicious. Getting ready for the wind in the face.
A classic masculine scent – exploring what it meant to become a man in the 80s – with palo santo and sage as the backbone of the fragrance. The juniper berry and armoise, pepper, cedar and amber carry the character and emotional reference of this scented dream
Cana (Cop) – 6 October 2021, Nijmegen
with Birgit Sijbrands
Driving an old car. Manual gears. Rural landscape on a provincial road. There is a police control point, and a cop signs that I have to stop. It’s a cold autumn and the pavement is wet. I see through foggy windows. The policeman in uniform walks to me, with a limp. I realize that this is because he is wearing heels. He knocks on my foggy window. Knock-knock. I roll the window down and see that the policeman wears a heavy moustache and thick red lipstick. The policeman is a colleague, and he is patronizing me in a condescending manner. He has stained and uneven teeth. A puff of “cloud smoke” billows out as he speaks, close to my face. His breath smells like red wine and lipstick. I want to continue driving. Stop!
The fragrance is built around a red wine accord (using IFF’s headspace technology) with Orris, Violet, Rose Ultimate and Musk to recreate the breath of cop’s breath.
ARTIST STATEMENT
The peculiar emotive impact of smells has been confirmed by numerous scientific studies. Olfaction transmits messages directly to the cortex and limbic system, meaning that our interpretation and analysis of smell is simultaneously emotional and cognitive. The scent exists for an ephemeral moment; the persistence of my work is only possible through the memory and personal association.
For Dreaming in Smell, I’ve worked closely together with Senior Perfumers at IFF to translate my scented dreams into fragrances. The process has been long-term, and personal. Upon waking in the morning, I capture – as precisely as I can – an olfactory interpretation of my dream.
I’ve documented numerous dreams, some of which have become the references for the fragrances used in this olfactive installation. The fragrances carry a very intimate emotional tie with my past. Even though these scents have a very personal meaning, I deliberately attempted to capture a sort of collective olfactory memory which should resonate with people outside myself. The scented dreams aim to trigger a mosaic of reactions and interpretations yet still free of language carry a powerful message.
Odors have an altogether peculiar force that affects us through association and memories. This is a force that differs from what can be triggered by the other senses. Smell heightens our reality and our imagination, triggers memories and emotions, constructs environments and atmospheres. Smell fascinates and provokes.
ABOUT BERNARDO FLEMING
Bernardo Fleming assumed from a young age that everyone experienced scents in their dreams, like he did. As an adult, he learned that this was not the case. In fact, the condition is so rare that there has been very little research done into understanding it. With this revelation, Fleming started a careful practice of recording his scented dreams. Written in a journal kept close by his bed, he was curious to see if his ability to recall dream-time scentscapes could inform his artistic practice, as a whole.
As global director of trends and strategic foresights for International Flavors and Fragrances, Bernardo has been well placed to leverage his unusual sensitivity and curiosity for all the human senses. His enhanced receptiveness to sound, visual art, taste and smell has resulted in a life consumed with further understanding and exploring these sensorial elements.
Originally from Argentina, his business background enabled an initial move into the fragrance industry, where for more than two decades he has developed an interdisciplinary career involving scent design, creative innovation and art.
As well as collaborating with brands – from enthusiastic start-ups to international players – on commercial project briefs with IFF, he has also partnered with major cultural institutions and global creatives on groundbreaking scented experiences. This uniquely privileged positions has allowed him to work with the world’s most talented artists, leading researchers and fragrance experts, as well as providing a fertile environment from which to investigate and nurture his own, extraordinary olfactive skill of dreaming with smell.
For ‘Dreaming in Smell’, his first solo exhibition, Bernardo worked closely with IFF perfumers to reconstruct the smells of four of his dreams, using the bedside journals he diligently kept. The resulting artwork is a selection of scented pillows and sheets, that capture both the random and autobiographical nature of his remembrances.
His expertise usually sees him take a preferred, behind-the-scenes supportive role, ‘Dreaming in Smell’ is the first solo work where Bernardo is gently nudged to centre stage to pursue his exceptional gift in an artful format.
ABOUT THE IAO GALLERY
The Institute for Art and Olfaction Gallery furthers the IAO’s continuing mission to provide opportunities to artists in Los Angeles and abroad by showcasing artists and experimental thinkers who work with or engage with the sense of smell. Our exhibitions take the form of installations, performances and visual art, and are curated on a bi-monthly schedule. The gallery builds on our former IN_LAB residency and exhibition program, relaunched in the wake of COVID-19.