Perfumes are often associated with icons, such as Chanel No.5, or with images that evoke sensory memories, like Proust’s madeleine. Yet, this project instead asks what Elon Musk, the Pope, or even our own mother might smell like on the Internet.
With DATA PERFUME®, HaYoung uses internet cookies as raw material. Each time we visit a website, a pop-up appears, supposedly to enhance the user experience. However, these small files are actually stored on the user's device, allowing companies to collect data, build personalized profiles, and boost targeted advertising. HaYoung gathers these techno-traces to create a brand that translates digital behaviors into olfactory expressions. By reappropriating the strategies of online corporations, the artist sensorially and intimately reveals how virtual infrastructures shape our digital identities.
It smells like my data: something processed, something stored and retrieved.
DATA PERFUME®, 2022-2024
OLFACTORY INSTALLATION
COOKIES, ALGORITHMS, WEBSITE, PERFUME, GLASS, ETHERNET CABLE, DIFFUSER, VARIOUS DIMENSIONS
FOR PRIX RÉGION SUD [LAUREATE*]
AT ART-O-RAMA, MARSEILLE, FR, 2022
CUR. AUDE CHRISTEL MGBA
FOR WILL YOU HEAR ME IF I COME BETWEEN 0 AND 1?
AT GLASSBOX SUD, MONTPELLIER, FR, 2022
DUO SHOW WITH CARIN KLONOWSKI
FOR RESPIRER L’ART
AT THE INTL MUSEUM OF PERFUMERY, GRASSE, FR, 2022
CUR. GREGORY COUDERC
SUPPORT: DRAC – PACA, FRENCH MINISTER OF CULTURE, ARTAGON MARSEILLE
PHOTOS: © ROBIN PLUS, GLASSBOX SUD, JACQUES PENON
www.dataperfume.com
TEXT BY AUDE CHRISTEL MGBA