MANDALA LAB at the Rubin Museum featuring Christophe Laudamiel
When Master Perfumer Christophe Laudamiel extends an invitation to you, be assured it will be an event that will be a rewarding olfactive experience. And this was no exception. Having been to the Ruben Museum this invite peaked my curiosity. New York City’s Rubin Museum’s six floors focus ion Himalayan art, ideas, and culture across history and into the present. The MANDALA LAB’s opening event was held on October 1st. It was timed to coincide with the museums 17th Anniversary and is now a permanent exhibition. that runs through October 2031! I was not able to attend that night but it was a privilege that Master Perfumer Christophe Laudamiel and Tim McHenry, Deputy Executive Director/ Chief Programmatic Officer gave me a personal tour when the museum after hours was shut to the public.
OUR EXPERIENCE :I asked Tim McHenry how long this had The MANDALA LAB been in the works and he said, “the idea took one year from concept, which began the second week of Covid, and developed from the urgency to express our emotions. The Mandala is a visual tool kit for surviving in uncertain times and through scent, we are able to explore unconscious bias, prejudice, how we view the world through a limited prism while not being aware that it’s limited.”
Christophe Laudamiel at the Check Your Pride station.
MANDALA? Broken down, Manda, meaningful essence and la, to extract, so extracting a meaningful essence. Mandalas are Buddhist teaching tools that you can use to learn how to confront and transform feelings of pride, attachment, envy, anger, and ignorance. They are known as kleshas in Buddhism and the five afflictive emotions can cloud our understanding of the world. Inspired by powerful Buddhist principles, the Mandala Lab features five thought-provoking, interactive experiences featuring video, scent, sculpture, and curated percussion instruments—that guide you along an inner journey focused on self-awareness and awareness of others. See, smell, touch, and breathe your way through the space, designed to inspire connection, empathy, and learning. The Mandala Lab’s activities invite curiosity about our emotions. Each one is designed to help you examine these specific emotional states.
“Each artist had a particular scent that evoked a strong memory for them. We decided to start with Laurie Anderson because we wanted to set the bar high. The artists each contributed a two-minute video. Master Perfumer Christophe Laudemiel was the obvious creator to execute this so he was invited to recreate those scents from a few words and those videos.”
Christophe created six custom-made scents (actually five custom-made and one raw ingredient curated directly from Kannauj) to match the six contributing artists visions who hail from Tibet, India, Thailand, and the USA
The contributing artists for the Scent Library Experience are:
Laurie Anderson
Sanford Biggers
Tenzin Tsetan Choklay
Amit Dutta
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Wang Yahui
Scents created by Christophe Laudamiel
First station LAURIE ANDERSON
Each of the six artists created a short video inspired by a particular smell. The six stations feature a custom-made scent based on the artist’s selection. Follow the onscreen prompts to experience a scent based on each artist’s story, then share your response to it, and watch the video. Share your experience like How does the scent make you feel? What emotional reaction do you have to the scent? Then select the emotion(s) that you associate with the smell from the descriptors or you can add your own. The idea is to watch a short 2-minute video from each one of the six artists (in no order) at one of the six stations to discover what emotions they evoke.
Christophe Laudamiel demonstrating the stations design
The scents created different emotions in me, and like wearing a fragrance, would probably change at different times/ days if I was to return, I’m sure. Some elicited a familiar feeling, some an uncomfortable one. The idea is to tap into your feelings. One example was Laurie Anderson’s choice of her Uncle Allen which I related back to my grandmother.
Christophe with gongs
Due to a video shoot, the rest of the floor was off-limits, with the exception of the section that incorporated musical instruments. A very impressive line-up was assembled for this experience. The idea is to approach any one of the gongs in the center of this space and follow the instructions and participate. The idea is to let anger be transformed through sound and stillness. Each musician has chosen a certain gong for this experience. Strike a gong and imagine your anger. Lower it into the water and feel it disperse.
Peter Gabriel Gong Specifications detail (yes THAT Peter Gabriel)
EXPERIENCE Can you find stillness within anger?
Billy Cobham
Sheila E.
Peter Gabriel
Dame Evelyn Glennie
Sarah Hennies
Huang Ruo
Shivamani
Palden Weinreb
Bora Yoon
Select gongs manufactured by Ryan Shelledy or Matt Nolan, UK
I recommend spending a couple of hours to experience all six floors at this Chelsea cultural oasis; we all can benefit by learning, self-awareness. and multi-sensorial connections to art.
THE RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART
150 West 17th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 620-5000
Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday Closed
Thursday 11:00 AM — 5:00 PM
10:00 AM — 11:00 AM Senior and high-risk hours
Friday 11:00 AM — 10:00 PM
Saturday/Sunday 11:00 AM — 5:00 PM
The Mandala Lab is reserved for family programming from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM every Sunday.
Proof of vaccination is required.
Thank you to Tim McHenry for your hospitality, much appreciated.
~Hernando Courtright, Senior Events Contributor and Brand Ambassador
All Photos by Hernando© of ÇaFleureBon unless otherwise stated and cannot be reproduced without our permission.
The Zoo Amber Classico Modern 2021 and Inspiring Kodo-Belair Lab (Courtesy of Christophe Laudamiel)
Thanks to the generosity of Christophe Laudamiel master perfumer and owner of THE Zoo we have a draw for the NEW 60 ml The Zoo Amber Classico Modern 2021 and, a sample bottle of “Inspiring Kodo” a Japanese incense Christophe created (officially accredited by a Kodo master and only available in Tokyo) for one registered reader (you must You must be a registered CaFleureBon reader residing in the USA. To be eligible please leave a comment on what you enjoyed or learned from Hernando’s experience. Draw closes 11/15/2021.
The newly released The Zoo Amber Classico (is not available in the USA as of this writing )has notes of Fresh natural Mandarin, Gentian absolute, Geranium from Egypt certified For Life®, Patchouli from Indonesia certified For Life® , Peru Balsam certified Fairwild(R) from El Salvador, Labdanum and Nebulone® , Benzoin tears from Laos.
For more on Christophe please read:
Hernando Courtright’s Osmotheque Scent Tracking Through Time with Master Perfumer and Osmocurator Christophe Laudamiel here
Robert Hermann’s reviews (RIP) of THE ZOO Spacewood and Rhubarb My Love here
Former Monthly Contributor Valerie Lee Vitale’s Christophe Laudamiel’s Scents and Setai Hotel from 2012 here
Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebonofficial @christophelaudamiel @thezoonyc @belairlab @rohto @rubinmuseum
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