Anicka Yi Launches Biography Fragrance Line to Challenge Scent and Identity

Anicka Yi, the Seoul-born artist and 2016 Hugo Boss Prize winner, has launched a fragrance line called Biography, expanding her exploration of the 'biopolitics of the senses.' The line consists of three perfumes: Shigenobu Twilight – Volume 1, inspired by Fusako Shigenobu, leader of the Japanese Red Army; Radical Hopelessness – Volume 2, dedicated to Hatshepsut, a female pharaoh of ancient Egypt; and Beyond Skin – Volume 3, envisioned as a future female entity. Beyond Skin blends suede, myrrh, and glandular secretions of the civet cat. Produced in collaboration with the brand Barnabé Fillion, the fragrances will be sold at Dover Street Market in New York and Los Angeles. The New York launch on November 21, 2019, will feature a performance with the Monell Chemical Center, where the public can try an innovative 'scent synthesizer' that mixes natural and synthetic fragrances via smartphone. Yi states her goal is to challenge traditional notions of femininity and subjectivity through the physiological process of smell. Her works are currently on view at the 58th Venice Biennale, curated by Ralph Rugoff.