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In the busy city streets of today's world, we get only glimpses of nature: walks along the water, tree-lined streets, urban parks. We seek the oxygen of plants and the sound of water.
Surrounded by concrete, fumes, the vibrations of traffic, and piles of rubbish, we humans have moved so far from our ancient environments.
Metropolis Oasis is the escape from the city streets into a world made of smaller worlds. Small vignettes take the audience to different scenes around Australia and Asia: the floodplains of western New South Wales, the natural pools of Kakadu, the gardens in the hills of Hong Kong Island, among others.
For each Oasis, the visual element conveys the scenery and hints at the atmosphere. The olfactory element, however, is the transport into the Oasis - the magic that creates the immersion in the mind, that allows the imagination to unfold.
This body of work is a series of artworks that have been scented throughout their creation, in each step of the process. Colours and scents are mingled synesthetically on the canvas to heighten the experience of visiting a slice of Paradise, and are also accompanied by a wearable fine fragrance that matches the scent of each painting.
Metropolis Oasis was created in hotel rooms in the bustling megacities of Seoul, Hong Kong, Tainan, and Taipei. The small hotel spaces, nestled amongst other tall buildings, contrasted heavily with the visual landscapes I had in my mind - hence I was determined to give each work the sense of pure escape that is so necessary for people who live in big cities.
To stand in front of a Metropolis Oasis vignette is to be immersed, if momentarily, in a whisper of nature from elsewhere.
Artist Statement
Nadia Vitlin is an artist based in Sydney, Australia, who has a background in earth and marine sciences. Her art brings together the study of nature, humanity, emotions, and sociological phenomena through the lens of the scientist via the olfactory exploration of perfume and fragrance in art.
Her olfactive art stems from having always been fascinated by scent. From a young age, she was fixated on smells and the plethora of emotions they evoke in humans. She started her perfume journey in 2013 with a class on the history of perfume, and by 2023 was exhibiting scented paintings in Asia. From October 2023 to May 2024 her artwork Eden Dew, an ambient scent, was exhibited at the long-running Eden Unearthed installation art exhibition. She was a 2024 Artist-In-Residence at the Ethics Centre, Sydney, with a project that looks into the ethics of scent and explores what is an “ethical” aroma through the artwork produced in this residency. In July 2024 she exhibited at the annual Olfactory Odyssey exhibition In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and will be exhibiting a collaborative body of work with fellow perfume artist Naoko Kusunoki in Tokyo, Japan, March 2025.
Constantly experimenting, her scents incorporate new and exciting ingredients that she acquires from sources that are unavailable to the mass market. Her passion for scent lies in the transportative capacity to take people to other places in mind and heart.
Nadia Vitlin runs Vitsley Olfactory Art and Bespoke Perfumery.
Part of Geelong Fragrance Fair - Scents for Mind and Mood
Other events include:
Perfumed Perspectives: In Conversation with Suzy Nightingale
Nostalgic Scents: a Lecture and Workshop on Memory
Scenting Cultural Stories [Panel Discussion]
| Mon, May 26 | 9:00AM to 5:30PM |
| Tue, May 27 | 9:00AM to 5:30PM |
| Wed, May 28 | 9:00AM to 8:00PM |
| Thu, May 29 | 9:00AM to 5:30PM |
| Fri, May 30 | 9:00AM to 5:30PM |
| Sat, May 31 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
| Sun, Jun 01 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
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