ArtSEA: At the Nordic Museum, alien flora bloom in smell-o-vision

Faux Flora (through Jan. 26, 2025) is the creation of Icelandic art collective Fischersund, known for its innovative fragrance line that incorporates smells such as moss, ozone, birch tar, and wooden fence. It’s a collective of talented siblings, including Jónsi (of electronic music band Sigur Rós) and his sisters Inga, Lilja and Sigurrós Birgisdóttir. 

At the opening artist talk, Inga said that the group uses both organic and lab-made oils to create their perfumes. Which caused the siblings to wonder: If the manmade scents were to come from plants, what might those look like? Et voila, Fischersund created an installation of wild and sometimes slightly disturbing digital flowers, all “sculpted” in Cinema 4D. 

With the exhibit, Jónsi explained, “We’re trying to trigger as many senses as possible.” Accompanying the tall vertical screens featuring video loops of the alien flowers softly swaying is a cacophony of disparate murmurs coming from all corners: whispered words, heavy breathing, minor chords and drips and sloshes. Add to this the mix of layered scents, which visitors sniff from handmade resin bell jars placed next to each flower.

“It’s triggering in a good way,” Jónsi said with a laugh. 

Having been to Faux Flora twice so far, I can attest to some common visitor behavior. People are a little overwhelmed at first — by the darkened room, the slowly gyrating flowers, the combined scents and scattered soundscape. But after shyly approaching the first sniff jar, they are quickly emboldened, soon sticking their noses into everything to inhale the scents. 

Not all of the smells are ones you’d want to dab on the wrist. (The more pleasant fragrances are available in the Nordic Museum’s gift shop.) Organized thematically by birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and death, some of the scents are deliberately intense, such as overly milky (birth) or sticky sweet (childhood). 

The poetic descriptions for each scent are part of the full-bodied experience. Accompanying the flower called “Grandmother’s Purse,” a menthol-forward scent is described as “Leather fingers curl around coins, cough drops, lipstick and tissue paper.” This spindly plant with desiccated leaves has one large seed pod — peek inside and you’ll see hidden cigarettes and hard candy.

In the adolescent section, where the plants heave and throb and, in one case, make out, the flower called “Bathroom Heart to Heart” is accompanied by a scent described as “Tears fall in friends’ arms like spilled drinks.” Also in the teen section: a field of translucent condoms standing erect thanks to hardened resin. Peer inside and notice each is comically stuffed with detritus (hair, Fruit Loops, batteries). 

There is a lot to see — and hear and smell and contemplate — here. Some flowers lactate, others have petals made of Band-Aids, some stems bud with garbage bags and boxes (this last a summary of adulthood).

Jónsi made a scented splash at the National Nordic Museum last year, with the immersive and memorable installation FLØD (Flood). In that exhibit, visitors walked into a pitch-black room lit occasionally by flashes of LED light. Ocean waves rolled across the room thanks to 40 evenly spaced speakers, which also played Jónsi’s ambient compositions. All around, a specially invented scent wafted in, seaweedy and burnt. 

While that show felt apocalyptic, this one feels more hopeful and encouraging of human connection, eliciting a shared nostalgia for things past. Even the final section, death — where a dry field rolls in endless waves while mournful music plays — looks to the future as a “seed dispersal,” with the promising glimmer of red beads beneath.

Arts News Nuggets

Given the gut-wrenching roller coaster of pre- and post-election news, you may have missed some of the arts news that’s buzzing in local corners. We’ll start with the bad news: 

•  SIFF Cinema Egyptian, housed in a historic Masonic Temple on Capitol Hill, closed suddenly late last week due to a “significant pipe leak.” Though temporary, the closure is expected to last “multiple months,” and has sent SIFF scrambling to move programming to other venues. 

• Also in art-building bummers: Despite significant protest from students, teachers and alumni, Cornish College’s decision to sell Kerry Hall will soon be a done deal. Deemed “the crown jewel” of the school by a recent Bloomberg article about “cash-strapped U.S. colleges” selling prized assets, the 1921 Spanish Revival building was originally the home of school founder Nellie Cornish, and in recent decades housed dance and music classes. This weekend, Cornish is hosting a public open house at Kerry Hall (Nov. 17, 1 - 4 p.m.) to “honor this sacred space and reminisce” … “before its sale is finalized later this month.”

• In mid-October, Seattle tech entrepreneur and local arts philanthropist Andrew Conru was called into question for donations he previously made to groups espousing “race science” and ideologies associated with eugenics. A Guardian article first revealed his $1.3 million contribution to the Human Diversity Foundation. In response to the revelations, a spokesperson for Conru said he has cut ties with the group. 

The Seattle Times followed up on the Guardian story and found that Conru made donations to several other controversial organizations between 2019 and 2021. Speaking to The Seattle Times, Conru disavowed “hateful ideology” and blamed the funding decisions on a lack of due diligence. Still unclear is how or whether local arts groups who have received funding from the Conru Art Foundation will respond.

Moving on to some good news

• Grammy nominations came out last week, and Pearl Jam earned three for its new record Dark Matter. Now in contention for Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance, the band hasn’t had a Grammy nod since 2011. Also on the roster of local hopefuls is jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and lush vocal quartet säje, both up for two awards. (Winners announced Feb. 2.)

• Art Zone with Nancy Guppy, which was on the chopping block in Mayor Harrell’s 2025-2026 budget proposal, has been preserved, along with the Seattle Channel, as part of the Balancing Package set forth by the City Council’s Select Budget Committee. City Council President Sara Nelson is now working on legislation to ensure the Seattle Channel stays funded for good. 

• And lastly, in food news: My friend and colleague Rachel Belle — host of Your Last Meal and The Nosh — has just released her new cookbook, Open Sesame (Sasquatch Books), teeming with tantalizing tahini dreams. If you’re a fan of the sesame flavor profile (think Chonky Tahini Maple Granola or Tender Tahini Almond Cake), you’ll find plenty of new ways to spread the seed, alongside Belle’s funny insights and friendly advice.