An Olfactory Journey by ICONOFLY for SOFT RESISTANCE
Perfume is a form of invisible tension: it draws us in, but never quite gives itself away. It evokes desire, memory, longing — and then dissolves, resisting capture. Like a fingerprint in the air, it marks us without touching us.
In this olfactory journey six scent stations echo the physical softness and emotional charge of ceramic work. Each fragrance embodies a form of attraction and resistance.
Through this soft resistance of scent, visitors are invited not to consume, but to drift — to be affected, held, and released.
Station 1 / PERSONNE
A mythological scent that resist linearity, looping us into cyclical time
Perfumer: Alexandre Helwani
Sprayed onto a one-of-a-kind textile by Cara Marie Piazza, PERSONNE becomes a layered narrative of scent and fabric. Both “Nobody” and “Person” in French, this fragrance is an olfactory interpretation of The Odyssey—crafted from plants named in the original text, it evokes the sensory landscapes of Ulysses’ mythical voyage.
Cara Marie Piazza, known for her alchemical dye sessions, transforms natural materials—botanicals, plant matter, minerals, non-toxic metals, and even food waste—into poetic textiles. Using ancient shibori and bundle dyeing techniques, she infuses each piece with its own soul, turning fabric into story. This collaboration weaves together two invisible languages: scent and dye, memory and myth.
Head : Myrtle, Cypress, Laurel, Rosemary
Heart : Carob, Hyacinth, Immortelle, Fenugreek, Davana
Base : Barley, Violet Leaf, Oarweed, Bran, Liatrix
WRAP YOURSELF IN PERSONNE
STATION 2 / SOUS LE MANTEAU
Love potions that invite but withhold, inspired by ancient recipes
Inspired by authentic love potions from centuries past, Sous le manteau unveils six confidential fragrances. These intimate elixirs are whispered spells from another time — sensual, secretive, subversive.
Perfumer: Nathalie Feisthauer
TAKE THE QUIZ TO DISCOVER YOUR FRAGRANCE
STATION 3 / XYLOFLOR
Floral silences and botanical hallucinations, both timeless and technological
Night in the Garden of Love was an exhibition of Shezad Dawood that pushed the boundaries of creative experimentation. Through virtual reality, a music-responsive Digital Seedbank, an AI-generated scent, and more, Dawood offered an optimistic response to environmental collapse. Dawood collaborated with Iconofly, perfumer Nicolas Bonneville, and fragrance house dsm-firmenich to create a custom scent for the exhibition.
Exhibited at Wiels (Brussels, 2023) and the Aga Khan Museum (Toronto, 2024). Ceramic soliflores crafted by Ofumum.
The Journey With The Six Soliflors
1. Passiflora (*NaturePrint)
Tendril-bearing vines with showy flowers that grow edible fruit known as passion fruit or granadilla
Native range: Southern United States and South America
2. Brugmansia (*NaturePrint)
A genus of 7 species of small trees and shrubs in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family; flowers are large, pendulous, and trumpet-shaped; most species are fragrant at night and attract moths for pollination; the red species is not fragrant and is pollinated by hummingbirds.
Native range: South America
3. Queen of the Night (*NaturePrint)
A tropical epiphyte that grows on the surface of other plants and derives moisture from rain; part of the cactus family; has no leaves but has flattened stems that resemble leaves; large, fragrant, white flowers that bloom during the night and last for a few hours; pollinated by bats.
Native range: Southern Mexico and Central America
4. Jasmine Sambac (**Absolute)
A twining or scrambling evergreen shrub with glossing leaves and white, fragrant, waxy flowers. Native range: Tropical Asia, Indian subcontinent to South East Asia.
5. AI Bouquet
The flowers in this scent bouquet couldn’t be sourced from real plants—either due to a lack of discernable scent or because their scent hasn’t yet been harvested. At dsm-firmenich’s innovation hub, Shezad described imagined aromas, which AI then brought to life, creating this unique, future-forward bouquet.
6. XYLOFLOR
This is the final composition: a fragrance that merges natural and digital flora in a dreamlike composition. Fusing wood (xylon) and flora, the fragrance is named after an invented, mutant word - Xyloflor. A limited series of artist signed edition soliflor and scent is available to purchase. Its unique shape and colors have been designed by Shezad Dawood and crafted by Ofumum. Visit the Boutique
ATTACHE MOI
Aromas of longing, bound by musks, leather, and amber
Olfactive Traps. A collection of magnetic, evocative fragrances. Each composition traps memory and desire, tension and release, in an invisible architecture of scent.
STATION 4 / ATTACHE MOI
An olfactory liqueur of amber, musk, and wood — a sillage of golden chypres whispering “attache moi” across skin
and soul.
Perfumers: Christine Nagel & Benoist Lapouza
Top Notes: Bergamot / Heart Notes: Jasmine, Cedar, Amber / Base Notes: Musks, Amber, Patchouli
STATION 5 / IT WAS A TIME THAT WAS A TIME
Marine skies and ambergris swell with memory. Leather, suede, and violet echo destruction and desire. Fragrance initially conceived as an invitation by the artist Shezad Dawood for his eponymous exhibition at Pioneer Works. Crossing The Line Festival, 2015
Perfumer: Nicolas Bonneville
Top Notes: Marine accord, Ambergris / Heart Notes: Patchouli, Suede, Violet, Tonka Bean / Base Notes: Musk, Incense, Immortelle
STATION 6 / ICI & LA
A perfume on the fluidity of time — from burst to bite to cosmic roar. Nutmeg, frankincense, and narcotic flowers unfold in drifting plumes.
Perfumer: Shyamala Maisondieu
Top Notes: Bergamot, Black Pepper, Pink Peppercorn / Heart Notes: Nutmeg, Angelica, Ylang-Ylang, Jasmine, Bitter Orange Leaf / Base Notes: Beeswax, Iris, Oak Moss, Incense, Vanilla, Ambrette, Musks
