Istituto dell'Odore Iris è nata a Berlino

The factory lights on, a body slowly taking shape.

I wake you in the middle of the night. Iris, we have to go. The factory lights come on, a body moves, slowly taking shape. The scent is iris, violet, black, perhaps darkness.

Iris absolute and violet absolute carry it, with galbanum and geranium running green through them. Cypriol, sandalwood, and cedarwood darken the ground, and jasmine, musk, and amber close it. Undecavertol, Ambrinol S, and Ambrocenide sit 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.