Maat Cosmetics, 2018

This was an audio-visual olfactory installation and educational intervention disguised as a fantastical marketing ploy. The aim was to encourage discussion of social issues in a way that amplified the often silenced or dismissed voices of marginalised groups. Progress and healing can only begin when we start to listen to the stories of the people actually affected by these moments in history and learn from them to begin to work towards a new world. But this can be difficult when so much of this history has been purposefully erased or hidden. Western state bodies do not like to remind their people of their country’s colonial history and do little to acknowledge how this past affected and continues to affect those that live there today. They have washed their hands of it. We must all look at our collective history to improve our shared future, but the change can be faster and greater if aided by societal solidarity, regardless of whether you perceive these to affect you. The brand's debut event featured the Dutch history product launch. The medium of a ‘giftbox’ was chosen to contain our fantastical products, which each told a historical story. This medium encourages the circulation of information and collective education outside of the traditional institutions which have failed us so far. Olfactory, tactile, and audio elements were used in our sampling event to purposefully enhance the learning experience, immersing people in the experience so to decrease the psychological distance from the realities faced by marginalised people in The Netherlands.