Perfume, Sculpture of the Invisible
Parfum, Sculpture de l’invisible — Palais de Tokyo
The “Expanded Drops” series was presented as part of the exhibition Perfume, Sculpture of the Invisible at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
In November 2025, the Palais de Tokyo hosted an immersive exhibition celebrating thirty years of artistic collaborations by Francis Kurkdjian. A perfumer and creator of olfactory installations, Kurkdjian has long explored the boundaries between perfume and art, collaborating with artists who incorporate scent as an integral dimension of their practice.
The exhibition brought together works by Sophie Calle, Anne-Sophie Pic, and other artists, inviting visitors on a timeless sensory journey.
The “Expanded Drops” series consists of original photographic prints created through a chemical reaction between perfume and silver gelatin photographic paper.
Accompanied by olfactory devices, the works invite viewers to come closer and experience the fragrance. Image and scent engage in an intimate, multisensory dialogue.
Through the chemistry of light and matter, the perfume leaves its imprint on the photographic paper. Each print becomes the trace of an invisible presence—an attempt to give form to the ephemeral and, for a fleeting moment, make fragrance visible.
— Exhibited at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2025
— Awarded “Future of Beauty” by Elle USA, 2019
— Exhibited at “Sillages”, Pasquart Museum, Biel, 2019
— Exhibited at Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Miami 2019
— Exhibited at Neiman Marcus, New York, 2019
— Exhibited at Neiman Marcus, Dallas, 2019
— Exhibited at Neiman Marcus, Houston, 2019
— Exhibited at “Il Profumo è in Mostra”, National Museum of Rome, 2018