« THE INSTITUTE OF SYNESTHESIA IS A RESEARCH PROJECT EXPLORING THE SENSORY BASIS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND SENSE-BLENDING POTENTIAL »

ARPA, INSTITUTE
OF SYNESTHESIA

Arpa, the lnstitute of Synesthesia, is a reseorch project exploring i he sensory basis of consciousness and sense-blending potential, such as lhe tlavor or light. Ai Arpa, fragrance tronscends ordinory observation, offering on experimentol and rituol pothway into synes1hesia, phytohormonal seniience, and wider perceplual awareness. We experience the future of fragrance with ail of our senses: you will be able to lis1en 1o the scenl.

« AT ARPA, WE EXPERIENCE THE FUTURE OF FRAGRANCE WITH ALL OF OUR SENSES. YOU WILL LISTEN TO THE SCENT »

SYNESTHESIA

1. Synesthesia: noun-biology: secondary or associated sensa1 ion thai is produœd in one port of the body by a stimulus on ono1her part.

2. Synesthesia: noun-psychology: the produclion of a sense impressior relot1ng to one sense or port of the body by stimulation of another sense or port of the body.

3. Synesthesia: a sponloneovsjoining in which the information received in one sense is accomporned by a perception 1n another sense. Simultoneous perception of multiple stimuli in one experience. A blending or iniermingling of different sense modalities.

« SIMULTANEOUS PERCEPTION OF MULTIPLE STIMULI IN ONE EXPERIENCE »

SUBSTANCE

By creoting a shored instant, perfume 1s a weapon and a courleous gesture. lt's a powerful addiciion to çoncentroted attention, as breath becomes its own form of observai ion in a spoce filled with latent dei-ails. Scent is present in everytriing. sampling from the past and 1he future, becoming organic in its construction and leav;ng space for imagination. Al Arpa, we work wilh the purest naturol rnateriols. Listen lo thern to elicit lransmissions from exira-seniient wavelengths; to eschew a future of artificiality in favor of joyful poetry. Everything ihal we're doing in perfumery is visuol and related to our own synesthesia. to convey not just a memory but a texture. We're always running ofter a blurry image lhal becomes more focused with time.

Aromas are thought os of mull volent sensorial detonators, therefore the approacn to scent blending ra1her lhan the tradiiional "evoke memory". At Arpa we evoke fuluristic sensations, as the parfums do noi only smell but con be tovched and heard at the same time, provokîng on organoleptic experience on the observer, or in this case the smeller. To better approach all senses at the same time, each fragrance is accompanied by a set of tokens, tangible and not, such as photographs, musical pieces ancl sculptures.

MODULAR

Arpa drows inspiration from the first synl hesizer frequencies and takes this experimental approach to modularity al Arpa. we produce modulor sequences of seven fragrances. Resisting ordinary boundaries of expenence, the fragrances reflect a vi toi inl'erconnectedness. and a fluid space ln which elements corne ln l·o correspondence. The seventh release of each sequence is motter, a substance lhol exists in ail the fragrances ihar came before it, the elemental base that conneds ond intensines the preceding consti tuents.

Named after the muse of lyric poetry and the arp synt hesizer, Arpa celebrates the pioneers of visionary music, whose modulor experiments with sound created a sensoriel richness that reftected the complexily of noise and wider synesthetic frequencies. The Arst arpa sequence Ands resonance with lhese icons: in oscillaiions and wavelengths that penetrate ail of our cells, and in the lush reverberations of discovery.

« NAMED AFTER THE MUSE OF LYRIC POETRY AND THE ARP SYNTHESIZER, ARPA CELEBRATES THE PIONEERS OF VISIONARY MUSIC »

« A RECOMBINATORY LANDSCAPE, IN WHICH THE ELUSIVENESS OF SCENT IS MINGLED WITH THE SOLIDITY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENTS TO "ILLUSTRATE THE ETHEREAL," AS DU PASQUIER SAYS. TITLED "A 3D PERFUME" (2020), THE OIL ON PAPER PIECE IS PART AN "ADVENTURE THAT HAS TAKEN ME FROM OBJECT TO SPACE AND FROM REPRESENTATION TO ABSTRACTION »

SOUNDWAVES

A founding member of the intluential Memphis Group, whose explorai ions developed spoce in painting and graphie rn the dimens1onol, Nathalie Du Pasquier moved her focus from industriol design to painting in 1987. and hos pointed every doy since. Her piece exclusively Fo,- Arpo, rendered in wet, dark gr-eens, drnws on the artist's singulor vrsual identity and describes a recombinatory landscope, in which the elus,veness of scent is mingled with 1he solidily of built environments to "illus1rate the ether·eol," as Du Pasquier soys. Titled "A 3D perfume" (2020). the oil on paper piece is port an '·adveniure 1hat hos la ken me from object 1o spoce and from representotion to abstraction", and marks the visionory ortisî's ongoing traverse across expressive categories.