Last summer, The Noguchi Museum and experimental perfumery brand Folie à Plusieurs launched an incense collection called ‘Co’ that paired Japan’s oldest incense supplier with experimental musicians for an innovative take on sound and scent. Now, the project is embarking on its next chapter with the launch of ‘OMNI’, a 3D-printed incense holder created by Icelandic designer Sruli Recht.
‘Co’ incense
The ‘Co’ project was inspired by the Japanese tradition of Koh-do, a refined and elaborate ritual of ‘listening to incense’ that is somewhat similar to traditional tea ceremonies but with emphasis placed on smell rather than taste.
Musical artists, including Japanese vocalist Hatis Noit and vibraphone musician Masayoshi Fujita, each created soundtracks to correspond with the scent of one of five incenses made by Japan’s oldest incense supplier, Kungyokudo. The download links to these albums were then attached to each packet of incense, with the idea that they could be listened to whenever the incense was burned.
‘Co’ incense
The ‘OMNI’ incense holder expands on the collection’s objective by combining traditional Koh-do philosophy with the work of a contemporary, avant-garde creative. The original experiment yielded sounds that were unusual but soothing, and this latest iteration of the project has resulted in an object that is similarly peculiar but somehow comforting.
Recht is best known for creating work that blurs the boundaries of fine art, fashion, and industrial design, with projects such as ‘Carapace’, a range of translucent-leather outerwear, and 'Damage', futuristic shoes designed for a world ravaged by global warming. In a previous foray into fragrance, he designed a diffuser for glassware company Norlan.
Sruli Recht on the incense ritual
‘Co’ incense
A sculptural object made from 3D-printed quartz sand, ‘OMNI’ looks almost like a meteor fragment that fell from space onto your tabletop. It's fitting, since when you slip the ‘Co’ incense into it and turn on the meditative sounds of the corresponding album, the experience is practically bound to bring you out of this world.
‘Incense is a ritualised, short moment in time, for transition, for grounding, or for cognitive travel,’ says Recht. ‘“OMNI”, a quartz sand 3D-printed platform made in Germany, serves as a monument for burn-affected listening, a memory device, a presence touchstone.’
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