'1 Woodchurch Road, London NW6 3PL'

DATE: 1994-2008
MEDIA: smell | visual

Is a sculptural installation that highlights the odors of an apartment complex in northwest London. A home for the artist, it also housed singles and families, harboring a mix of generations and cultural backgrounds. The neighbors included people of Irish, Lebanese and English ancestry, and so offered a range of cuisine preferences, consumer practices, grooming habits and domestic situations.
The five garbage cans of the piece present a cross-section of the smells Maciá found most provocative and characteristic of the building and its occupants: naftalin (mothballs), olive oil, Listerine, eucalyptus, and baby powder.

Visitors to the installation lift the top of the cans (akin to the artist’s own method of research) to inhale the vaporous substances. In a kind of sociological shorthand, Maciá’s olfactory clues hint at diverse personalities and lifestyles, whether it be that olive oil connotes a Mediterranean sensibility or that mouthwash evidences an excessive concern with personal hygiene. As visitors sniff the contents of each container, they can reflect upon how a sense of community develops from a heterogeneous mix of identities.

Presented at:
1994 Goldsmiths College ‘1 Woodchurch Rd London NW6 3PL’ . MA Show. London, UK 2008 Esther M. Klein art Gallery, Odor limits, 1 Woodchurch Rd London NW6 3PL’ Philadelphia, USA.