Secret/ions Magnifique 

Part of Group Exhibition 'Are You a Modern Girl? Rituals & Nowness' at Punta Gallery, Sofia BG Curated by: Boyana Dzhikova 16.04 - 31.05.2025 durational olfactory sculpture - 3.8m x 1.5m x 1.2m scent, pheromones, sweat, tears, sea water, glass, metal, mirror Secret/ions Magnifiques is a sculpture - an olfactory portrait of (the idea of) a seductive female presence. It consists of 9 glass bodies containing top, middle and base notes, across three ascending levels, echoing the formal structure of perfumery itself - most perfumes are built following this trinity. Each vessel contains an aromatic blend representing a specific constituent of the olfactory body (sweat, hair, blood, femininity, shadow), which is directed by gravity to a mixing chamber. Animistic, metallic, salty, lactonic, narcotic, earthy and floral notes are mixed with pheromone compounds among other liquids. From there, the mixture slowly flows into a perfume vial placed on a steel “altar”. 15 perfumes will be produced as part of the exhibition. The work draws on ancient Italian folk magic ‘Stregheria’ where women were believed to craft spells—potent perfumes made from their own bodily fluids such as sweat and tears—to seduce and enchant. Perfume masks, alters, and refines the body's natural scent, allowing people to disguise or surface their olfactory identity. It is both armour and weapon - an intimate ritual of self-invention. Newer perfume recipes contain pheromone compounds including estratetraenol, copulins, androstenol and oxytocin to stimulate libido - ingredients that are part of the Secret/ions Magnifique formula. The work also refers to Hippocrates' theory of the four temperaments, according to which personality characteristics and behavioral patterns are based on the insufficiency or excess of bodily fluids. The daily act of collecting the mixed fluid and replacing the perfume vial in the exhibition becomes a new ritual that reflects the ancient labor of creating fragrances. The work sheds light on ritual practices that have been commodified in capitalism - many of the distinctive scents in folk customs, such as incense, for example, are used in the modern perfume industry. In this sense, she traces the invisible threads between millennia-old practices and modern life. Its title refers to Etat Libre d'Orange’s Sécrétions Magnifiques, a unisex perfume created in 2006 that contains scents resembling the smell of blood, semen, saliva, coconut and sandalwood. About the exhibition: The exhibition presents 5 original readings on the topic of rituals and nowness, mostly from the perspective of the women's experience (though not limited to it). It questions the modern woman and her attributes and the role rituals play in her life. For more information: https://puntagallery.com/Rituals-and-Nowness