Perfumer: Nicolas Bonneville (dsm-firmenich)

Xyloflor® is the scent of the exhibition Night in the Garden of Love opening November 10 2023 at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. This exhibition, which premiered at WIELS in Brussels this Spring was developed by Shezad Dawood. It is inspired by the creative output of African-American musician, composer, allamah/polymath Yusef Lateef.

The result is a dreamlike bouquet bringing to life the various plant notes of the Garden’s collectively imagined ecosystem.

Fusing wood (xylon) and flora, the fragrance is named after an invented, mutant word - Xyloflor.

Not all of the plants referenced by Dawood and Lateef have a discernible scent. Therefore, using the garden’s potential as a site of creation, and conceived by Perfumer Nicolas Bonneville with the help of Artificial Intelligence and Headspace technology, this scent traverses the digital and natural world. Using Firmenich’s AI database, Dawood described an embodiment and association to the plants, enacting a call and response, which translated into the corresponding scent.

In the exhibition Xyloflor will be presented in a large ceramic vase using bamboo reeds for capillary diffusion, releasing the scent into the night garden, immersing within Dawood and Lateef’s metaphysical space.

A limited series of artist signed edition soliflor and scent are available to purchase. Each ceramic has been hand made and painted by Ofumum. Please specify on your order which edition you wish to receive.

Xyloflor marks the second collaboration between Shezad Dawood and Nicolas Bonneville curated by ICONOFLY.

TOP: Bergamot, Basil, Pear, Black pepper, Jasmine Sambac Nature Print (NP)

MIDDLE: Jasmine Sambac absolute, Brugmansia NP, Passiflora NP, Queen of the Night NP, Foxgloves (digitalis) Artificial Intelligence AI, Edelweiss (Lion’s Foot) AI, Wishbone (Torenia Fournieri) AI, Daisybushes (Ostéospermum) AI

BASE: Cedarwood, Patchouli, Musk

Edition of 99 pieces