10 Scents, 2009

Chih-Chien Wang - Montreal, Quebec

Multimedia Installation

Before entering a portable toilet, people tend to brace themselves for what they are about to inhale. The 10 fixtures of this piece, however, are designed for more poetic than practical purposes. Filled with unlikely materials and scents, their aromas conjure up landscapes, characters and events from Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy and logic-twister Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Rather than journeying down a rabbit-hole, visitors engage in their own adventures by just opening the door. Visual, textual, and olfactory clues may coalesce – or not – posing evocative sensory conundrums to ponder and explore.

Chih-Chien Wang's works in photography, video and installation frequently contain subtle traces that refer to personal, cultural or social concerns. He manipulates quotidian objects, including foods, so that the absurdity of contemporary life becomes obvious. He recently exhibited at Gallery 44 (Toronto), the Zenith Gallery (Beijing), Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain (Montreal) and the Quebec Triennial at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. 

Suitable for all ages