Together with Le Labo Fragrances and AnOther Magazine, Belgian artist Katrien De Blauwer talks about creating something tangible in response to something so elusive – scent, and how we experience it
Le LaboScent has the power to trigger potent memories; we are all familiar with the indescribable yet instantly recognisable smell of a past lover, the scent that lingers on old clothes borrowed from friends, or the distinct aromas of houses. Candles, too, hold immense associative potential; one whiff can transport you, both emotionally and physically, straight back to a certain period in your life when you had it burning. When Katrien De Blauwer was commissioned by Le Labo and AnOther Magazine to create a series of artworks in response to their collaborative AMBROXYDE 17 candle, the Belgian artist was tasked with the difficult challenge of creating something tangible in response to something so elusive – scent, and how we experience it.
In the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of AnOther Magazine, De Blauwer concocted an intoxicating series of works mixing found photography and text from newspapers, magazines and books. Spliced together in a sensual, associative manner, these images include landscapes and various individuals, with an emphasis on lips, clasped hands and bare necks, all spliced, mixed and matched. De Blauwer’s work sits in the realm of photomontage, mixing various influences from literature, art, music, fashion and cinema. She simply calls herself a “photographer without a camera”, trawling flea markets and old antique shops for images that catch her eye, a treasure trove to be repurposed later. “My work is about desire, love, encounters, contact, pain, lust,” she says.
While working on the series for AnOther Magazine, De Blauwer became intimately familiar with Le Labo’s AMBROXYDE 17 candle, which was carefully handcrafted in the US, featuring ingredients including ambroxyde, musk, and an assortment of woods all settling on a pedestal of moss. “I have the candle in every room, and I know the smell completely by heart,” says De Blauwer, who worked on the series in her serene home and studio in Ronse, Belgium. “It’s something like a loved one; she or he left a T-shirt at your house, and you still have the smell. You cannot describe it, but you love it. The feeling I had while working with Le Labo’s candle was a little bit like that.”
Beginning with the colour palettes of Le Labo – a slow perfumery brand specialising in sensory fragrances, body care and home products – De Blauwer landed on grey, brown, beige and black for her series of artworks, with an emphasis on ‘wabi-sabi’, the Japanese term for the appreciation of transient beauty, imperfection and impermanence. Working spontaneously and in total silence, De Blauwer concocted the series in a creative stupor. “Sometimes when I work, I don’t think anymore,” she says. “I’m a completely other person. My hands take over and my unconscious works. I forget to eat, I forget hours, I forget everything. And at the end, it’s surprising to see the work – it’s thrilling.”
“Our longstanding friendship with AnOther Magazine, whose introduction to artist Katrien De Blauwer, sparked an open-ended exploration of what it means to give tangible form to fleeting emotion,” says Deborah Royer, global brand president and creative director of Le Labo Fragrances. “Katrien’s layered, abstract collages are a tactile translation of AMBROXYDE 17 through her distinct perspective and medium – an ode to the endless ways a single fragrance can be felt and articulated through one’s own interpretation.”
The Le Labo x AnOther Magazine AMBROXYDE 17 candle will be available on 6 January 2025 in select locations, and online at Le Labo, featuring De Blauwer’s intoxicating design. “The final candle stands for both the essence of the scent and the intangible experience of our creative dialogue,” says De Blauwer.
