Project Warfume Agent
Steel, glass, aluminum, gloss paint, varnish, stainless steel, spray nozzle, recycled gas bottle, sterling silver, Swarovski crystals, photopaper, vinyl, velvet, brass, polyamide, transparent resin, wood, hay, styrofoam and plexiglass
In this series Call Me Frank tries to show a direct correlation between the long term destructive force of chemical warfare agents in times of war and advertisement in our modern society. The series shows eight one-off custom designed perfume bottles labelled with their corresponding logos of toxic gasses. Each bottle contains subtle hints with information regarding the warfare agent, and the packaging refers to its type, origin and use of the toxic gas.
All over the world, the economy is starting to fall apart. For the last 15 years, people have been unsatisfied with their belongings, leaving them wanting more and more even when they could not afford it. The advertisement industry has played a traitorous role in this story, offering consumers millions of possibilities to add to their belongings and driving them further into financial troubles. A small minority of our world’s population had warned about the consequences this could have, but most people went with the flow and let their selves be blinded by pretty things they thought they needed.
We are being bombarded with advertisement like weapons were used in times of war. Just like the toxic gasses and chemical warfares, the effects of this advertisement are slow and longlasting, eventually resulting in unforeseen problematic world changes. With this exhibition, Call me Frank tries to open up the eyes of the consumer, aiming to look beyond the physical appearance of all things ‘beautiful’. The average working class person wants to live up to the dream of wealth, that will bring happiness and success. But in reality, the wealth brings along little happiness and massive distress.
The exhibition showed 8 uniquely designed perfume bottles with a luxurious appearance, which are filled up with lethal toxic gasses. This illustrates the contrast between what we desire, and what makes our lives a living hell.