DOLCHE VITA

 

Olfactory and interactive installation, 2019

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Dolche Vita explores the evolving value of salt through the lens of alchemy and experimental chemistry. The installation presents a tabletop laboratory filled with flasks, jars, and large, growing salt crystals, evoking both scientific investigation and mystical transformation. Salt, once considered 'white gold' – a driver of trade, power, and survival – becomes here a medium for reflecting on changing values and human perceptions of worth.

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The work invites viewers into an alchemical process: the slow growth of crystals mirrors centuries of fascination with transformation, while the delicate scent of salt permeates the space, engaging the senses in a subtle, almost ritualistic experience. Each jar and flask functions as both a scientific apparatus and a metaphorical vessel, blurring the boundaries between laboratory experiment, artistic creation, and poetic meditation.

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By situating the audience in a space of observation and participation, Dolche Vita asks: how do we measure value, and how do ordinary substances gain extraordinary significance? The project foregrounds the tension between material reality and symbolic meaning, recalling both the experimental rigour of chemistry and the mystical pursuit of alchemy, where the transformation of matter is inseparable from the transformation of perception.

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​Publications about project:

2019 "‘The Common Table’, Final Exhibition of Open Studios", Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia

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