In an interview with New York Times Magazine, Wawrzyniak traces her obsession with scent back to her childhood in communist Poland, recalling buses filled with smelly passengers in days when deodorant was a luxury good and explaining, "I have incredibly vivid memories of liking certain people because of their smell and being afraid of others because of their smell". Today she complains that people mask their smells with soap and perfume, calling the mix of inorganic scents a "horrible cocktail". The scents were presented both in vials, which could be purchased by gallery visitors, and also diffused in a scent chamber that provided a full-on olfactory experience, bringing the visitor directly a human being's most intimate sphere. In a world where deodorants and perfumes mask a human's natural smell, Wawrzyniak's project strives to challenge the perception of organic smells and the natural scent of a woman.
For more information on the artist, see: www.martynka.com
Author: Agnes Monod-Gayraud, November 2012
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 2012 Smell Me, Envoy Enterprises, New York, NY
- 2009 Kids, Envoy Enterprises, New York, NY
- 2009 Ketchup, Envoy Enterprises, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions:
- 2012 F.G.Ft, Envoy Enterprises, New York, NY
- 2011 Mob, Bullet Space, New York, NY
- 2011 Commercial Break, curated by Neville Wakefield presented by The Garage Center for
Contemporary Culture, at the 54th Venice Biennale, Italy
- 2011 4 Sale, Galeria Ego, Poznan, Poland
- 2011 4 Sale, 25 Kadr Gallery, Moscow, Russia
- 2010 Voyeur, South Beach Miami, FL
- 2010 PYT (Pretty Young Thing), curated by Anne Huntington and Diana Campbell, New York, NY
- 2010 4x4: Four Figurative Photographers, Paul Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2008 All in the Family, Screening curated by Laura Parnes, Sarah Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY
- 2006 PDN’S 30, Photo Plus Expo, New York, NY
- 2003 Beyond Compare - Women Photographers on Beauty, Dove / Ogilvy and Mather