Istituto dell'Odore Banana Circus

Count to ten, then eyes open.

The ballerina, the lion and the trapeze artist; the marionette. Reminiscent of the scent of bananas. The ’80s and the small-town circus. A carousel ride in the summer, the first kiss at sixteen. Round and round.

Banana, chocolate, popcorn, and cocoa lead it sweet, with tuberose and suede in the middle. Labdanum absolute, amber, vanilla, cedarwood, and patchouli hold the base, and musk keeps it close to skin. Triplal sits in the core alongside them.

Istituto dell'Odore names three roles: Meo Fusciuni, archivist; Federica Castellani, analyst; Alessio Gerini, oneiromancer. There is a place, there is a building, there is an archive: a collection of fragrances made to archive the past and the present, and so make the olfactory future permanent. It is the one place, physical and imaginary at once, where the olfactory memories and essences humankind has lost over time are kept.

Each release is built around a specific raw material and becomes a sanctuary for memories and emotions, so that a personal experience turns into a shared element of the collective, toward a comprehensive catalogue of raw materials that carry common memories. The creator becomes an archivist and custodian of tomorrow's olfactory memory. The work begins with the research and cataloguing of artefacts, and the first five are already on display.