Modern Decadence

I realiteten, så som den verkar, spänner sig den tillfälliga oron i kroppen, över att se en tristessartad vardag mellan människor som lever för nära varandra, men också inför plikter, påtagna uppdrag, mot ett avgörande ögonblick som kommer vara länge, som faktiskt redan är. jag är snart klar. men det är alltid slutspurten som är det värsta.. goodbye 

In a liquid modern life there are no permanent bonds, and any that we take up for a time must be tied loosely so that they can be untied again, as quickly and as effortlessly as possible, when circumstances change - as they surely will in our liquid modern society, over and over again.

Louise Bourgeois - Cell II, 1991 

In Cell II (1991), Bourgeois encloses a mirrored table within a circle of old doors.  Upon the table are a sculpture of wringing hands, expressing worry and anxiety, with empty or nearly empty bottles of Guerlain’s famous perfume, Shalimar.The mirrored table could be a lady’s vanity where she would display her bottles of perfume. Shalimar could be the scent her mother wore throughout Bourgeois’ childhood. The mirror reflects the hands, contorted with distress, as are the stylized glass bottles, doubling the impact of both.  The wooden doors connect together as though they have joined hands, confining the memories and emotions associated with the objects inside, unwilling to release. The simple placement of an empty bottle can evoke so much.  Jacques Guerlain created Shalimar in 1921 on the heels of the end of World War I, when Bourgeois would have been 7 years old.  With notes of vanilla, bergamot, and iris, it is a perfume in the category of “Oriental” that was immensely popular at the time.  Shalimar epitomized elegance, taste, and romance.  It was the story of the Mughal emperor who built the Gardens of Shalimar for his great love in Lahore, and then the Taj Mahal, that inspired Guerlain to put forth this enduring classic. A perfume, inspired by the story of ideal love, is used up, has dried away in Bourgeois’ sculpture.  Yet the involuntary memory stirred upon smelling the perfume, much like Proust’s experience with tea and the madeleine, is irrepressible.  This is the power of scent.  All that is left are the tortured memories that do not wish to go away.

It has been found again - Eternity. It is the sea fled away with the sun. Let us whisper the confession of the night full of nothingness and the day on fire. from human approbation, from common urges; you diverge here and fly off as you may. since you may be alone, satiny embers, duty breathes without anyone saying : at last. Here is no hope. It has been found again - Eternity. It is the sea fled away with the sun. 

sometimes I think of my snuff as heroin (floating state of mind) ??? the long strive towards being a heroine (mein kampf-analysis) 1) a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities. moon_fish “princess elizabeth karadjordevic of yugoslavia decided that every woman has the right to be a princess - turned to sophia grojsman, matriarch of the perfume world to create a fragrance worthy of a queen (jasmine, iris, hyacinth, orange blossom) 2) the principal female character in a story, play, film etc