Site specific performance, video work and a series of perfumes

-2023-

For the 16th Biennale de Cuenca, in Ecuador, Jankowski created “Smell Maneuver”, a multimedia work blending a specially crafted perfume line, a recorded, site-specific performance with Ecuador’s Guardia Ciudadana Cuenca (Citizen’s Guard), and a photograph series in the format of a campaign.

Together with a perfumer, Jankowski developed 18 distinct scents, each labeled with evocative titles such as “Soft Power,” “Conspiracy Theory,” “Democracy,” “Race and Gender Factors,” and “Ideology.” These keywords were drawn directly from the biennial’s curatorial text then served the perfumer as inspiration for new smell compositions. Through this process the “Smell Maneuver” perfume line was born, bottled, then labeled. 

The Citizen’s Guards were then taken to an abandoned settlement in Ecuador’s Andes Mountains where they participated in a performance involving the perfume line. Instead of traditional forms of task force training, the guards conducted a unique “maneuver,” challenging the sense of smell in each participant. The Guards were divided into two opposing groups of nine, each equipped with a body camera and sprayed with one of the 18 perfumes, then challenged to identify the scent of their adversaries while both drone camera and body camera captured the performance. Once a participant’s perfume was identified they collapsed, symbolizing a defeat in combat. Thus turning the use of fragrance into a playful yet intense exploration of contemporary social issues through performance.

The final component of the work is a mock photo campaign, where each guard modeled wearing a designated scent paired with a specific slogan. The resulting portraits featured clear, forward-facing shots of the guards looking seriously into the camera, styled in the sterile format of traditional perfume campaigns. 

“Smell Maneuver” unfolds as a meditation on authority, conflict, and the interplay of power, sensibility, and identity. By transforming the Citizen’s Guard into performers, Jankowski reimagines their role as protectors of public order, challenging them to confront and embody the abstract themes that shape societal structures. Through its innovative use of scent, performance, and visual media, “Smell Maneuver” weaves together the concepts of power, opposition, and identity, inviting viewers to reflect on the nuanced and often invisible forces that govern human interactions.