Unction, 2012
“..mix them together in porphyry, then in porcelain above warm embers.”
Unction is the eventual culmination of practical and archival research. Following a chance discovery of an allusion to a 17th Century recipe for the scented oil used to anoint British Monarchs, the formula has been translated, followed and realised. Working closely with a perfumer and various archivists, the blend contains essences and tinctures from across the ancient and natural world including Ambergris, Jasmine and Musk used in antiquity for their rarified exoticism as much as their perfume.
This work was originally installed at Chelsea College of Art and Design in September 2012 as part of the MA exhibition and subsequently at SVEART, valle d'aosta, Italy.
Made airborne via domestic diffusers, the oil imposes an egalitarian, secular anointing upon the graduating artists, artwork and building via involuntary inhalation or contact with micro-fine misted particles. On the Private View evening and throughout the exhibition the college welcomed several thousand visitors, who (whether aware or not) received it also, as the diffusers were positioned at key connecting corridors.
