parfums-d-orient-ima-dailleux

Perfumes of the Orient, discover (and smell) the new exhibition at the IMA

undefined undefined 26 septembre 2023 undefined 12h00

undefined undefined 31 décembre 2023 undefined 11h29

The Editor

Cueillette dans les hauteurs du Moyen Atlas, Denis Daileux, 2015. Photographe analogique (tirage d’exposition) 80 x 80 cm. Collection de l’artiste © Denis Dailleux

Press Release

From rare essence fields to the perfumer's workshop, from the streets of the medina to the hammam, from sacred spaces to the heart of the house... Perfume inhabits the Arab lands and will now inhabit the new exhibition at the Institut du monde arabe for the next six months.

Yesterday as today, in the Arab world, perfume follows everyday life. From raw materials, to the heart of the city and into the intimacy of homes, through the scent of orange blossoms or roses, each fragrance is nourished by strong symbolism. With "Parfums d'Orient", the Institut du monde arabe pays tribute to this ancient and still vibrant civilization of perfumes, through the history of spice trade and the incense route, practices related to perfume making, objects infused with floral water, and spectacular bouquets of jasmine or narcissus. A journey that awakens our senses. The exhibition has been conceived as a sensory experience.Personal ambulation, where one first crosses nature, then the alleys of a city, to finally find oneself within a house. A journey that tells the whole culture of perfume in the Arab world, sensitive and poetic, and that relates the fusion relationship that unites them, between customs and social roles.
The Perfume Garden, Huda Lufta, Dubai (United Arab Emirates), 2008. Dubai, Third Line gallery © Huda Lufti. Courtesy of the artist and The Third Line, Dubai. Fragrances, ointments, oils, balms, waters or fumigations are found in many aspects of life: well-being and cosmetics, hospitality and living together, cuisine and medicine, seduction and religion... Through these stories, your eyes will be stimulated, but so will your nose, as the IMA implements olfactory devices to immerse us in scents created especially by the perfumer.Creator Christopher Sheldrake.


From nature to the heart of the house

The journey is gradual. First, Scents of the Orient takes us through the rarest and most precious essences: raw materials. Flowers, herbs, spices, resins... From the Mediterranean countryside and the Middle East, through the Arabian Desert to the far reaches of Asian rainforests and the Himalayan mountains, nature nourishes and fuels the markets.

The Guardians - Fariza Iskandar Mbarrak, Vladimir Antaki, Mascate (Oman), 2023. Impression on Dibond. 240 x 160 cm. Paris, musée de l'Institut du monde arabe © musée de l'IMA / Vladimir Antaki

Next, we immerse ourselves in the scents of the city, wandering through the streets, places of passage and exchange that testify to the important role of perfume in society. The neighborhoods that make up cities are permeated with smells, from the bustling market...To the perfumer and to the baths.

Finally, the exhibition takes us to the heart of the intimacy of the Arab-Muslim house. It is also in the homes that we find this taste for perfumes, which fill all the houses with multiple scents. We smell the spices and the enticing aromas of the kitchen, we perfume our guests as a mark of hospitality (a fundamental social act in Arab countries) and we also use perfumes, oils, and ointments that accompany a set of seduction rituals.


Shedding Skin, Yumna al-Arashi, Beirut (Lebanon), 2017. Artist's collection. © Yumna AL ARASHI

To discover this way of life, come to the Institute of the Arab World from September 26, 2023, to March 17, 2024.

Perfumes of the Orient
Institute of the Arab World
1, rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard – 5th
From September 26, 2023, to March 17, 2024
here.