Friday, September 26, 2008

some news

  • My article about 'If There Ever Was' is published on the magazine for the aroma professionals AROMA RESEARCH No.35 2008/8 (vol.9/No.3), Fragrance Journal Co. [only in JP]
  • I've been honorally nominated for the The World Technology Network (WTN) AWARD category: arts, gala: July 2009
  • Tuesday, September 23, 2008

    Spice Market, Istanbul

    What does it smell like in Turkey?
    And what do they eat?





    The chestnut and corn stand are everywhere on the streets. They're diffusing nice smells.

    Off course we cannot miss the spice market.



    Fish market is located along the river. The diffuser of the smell of fish!

















    What do you think they are?
    They're aubergine!



    The yellow one are intestant used for making sausages. The red ones are tomato's.



    Okra flowers






    Eau de cologne is a part of service for the customers. You find it often at the shops.


    Cold press essential oils. Many sorts.


    They had not only the aromaterous like sandal wood and musk, but also the composed ones - one of their perfumes was labeld "Channel 5"



    It's like being in Egypt. I emptied my wallet again...







    Wonderful baby-shop.





    Fishing on the bridge in the heart of the city Istanbul.

    Body Odor No. 5 - making extracts -

    The ingredients and the process of extraction

    cumin


    garlic


    mushroom


    onion


    oil maceration (cooking the ingredients at 70 degrees in oil)


    filtering onion


    filtering



    These ingredients above are processed in Holland.

    From here the process took place in Istanbul, Turkey. The base components were already made in Holland, but I wanted to add a 'Turkish' touch to it. So I've extracted some food ingredients that are commonly used in the Turkish cuisine.

    The point here is to select the ingredients that are comparable to 'base note' in the perfumery. For example, mint is used a lot in the Turkish kitchen but I have avoided it because it's too much 'top note'. It wouldn't appear in the body odor.

    kebab


    kebab in oil (maceration in progress)


    Turkish parsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif


    Turkish parsley in oil


    filtering sumac

    Body Odor No. 5 - composition of body odor - in Istanbul

    Date& Time: 20.09.2008, 20:00 - 23:00
    Place: Garaj Istanbul, Turkey
    Event: Citysense

    Body Odor No.5
    - reconstruction of the body odor -
    Maki Ueda (NL/J)

    [Performance Installation – bar/lounge area, 3h]

    For Japanese Dutch artist scent and smells (the olfactory) are a “new” medium. She creates scents which capture childhood, identity, a mood or a historical event. Within this context a person’s body odor can be used to identify the person, and is as distinctive and traceable as a fingerprint. The character of the smell is determined by many conditions, such as for example diet: we smell of, what we eat. So the Europeans are supposed to smell like cheese, and the Japanese like soy sauce. During the event Maki Ueda will, with her unique combination of skills and the mini-laboratory setup, extract the smells of different foodstuffs. The audience will then witness the live process of composing a "perfume" with the latter ingredients, which will replicate body odors, personal smell tags, if you will.



    The moment of composing the perfume


    Smell Bar


    Are you fed up with your own body odor and do you just want to smell like someone else? Luckily enough you can, with this perfume just released from the fragrance house Maki Ueda.

    Its scent is gourmet, but amazingly animalic at the same time. Luxuriously composed mainly with Dutch fresh cow cheese extract, onion extract , cumin extract, and top quality Japanese fish extract. All the ingredients are organic, synthetic-free. Purely hand-manufactured with the extra care.

    Ideal all-day perfume for both men and women (18 +), applicable to all parts of the body. Also good for the sensitive skin (vegetable oil base). Not for the internal use.














    After the event, 50 bottles of composed perfume are given as a present to the audience.

    the extracts used for composing Body Odor No. 5:

    * Made in Holland [all self-made extracts]

    • saurkraut extract (ECO)
    • onion extract (ECO)
    • cumin extract (ECO)
    • garlic extract (ECO)
    • Dutch cheese extract(Belegen ECO)
    • seaweed extract (hijiki)
    • fish extract (bonito fish flakes)
    • etc
    * Made in Turkey [all self-made extracts]

    • Turkish tea extract
    • Turkish parsley extract
    • kebab extract
    • sumac extract
    • etc

    Other related work from the event...
    Urbanopathic Confection

    by Wietske Maas



    She is a great gastronomic artist! She has collected the water, herbs, and flowers in Amsterdam, and turned them into candy referring to the Turkish tradition. It tasted nice, and interesting work.

    Monday, September 15, 2008

    CitySense @ Garaj, Istanbul (announcement)

    CitySense: Surveillance, Secrecy, Security, Control

    [A playful evening pondering media, control, surveillance, secrecy and art in urban environments]

    Curator: Nat Muller in collaboration with NOMAD

    Introduction

    It is no big secret that urban centres have become sites of surveillance and control. Gone are the days that the urban city dweller could carelessly drift – as the 19th Century flaneur, strolling from one area to the other, and then disappear anonymously into the crowds. As our urban experience might have become more anonymous in regard to social interaction, our behaviour – how we move, what we see, hear, taste and smell - is becoming more regulated, watched and controlled. Anonymity it seems, is no longer an option. Our urban sensibilities are often directed, mediated and pre-programmed, either by security measures or by other overt or hidden codes of conduct. It is no coincidence then that how we consciously sense our cities – our “City Sense” – ultimately defines how we position ourselves as citizens.

    CitySense offers a playful interpretation on how to actively engage your urban senses and reveals the hidden and questions the exposed in an evening choc-a-bloc with video screenings, live food and smell installations, live audio-visual performances, and party to close off the night. It also is an event where the practices of Dutch artists (predominantly from Rotterdam) and Turkish artists (predominantly from Istanbul) come together. The event is followed by a panel discussion on the 21st of September with the participating artists.

    Program Day1: CitySense 20 September: 20.00-1.30am

    20.00: doors open

    20.00 – 23.00: Body Odor No 5 - Maki Ueda; Urbanopathic Confection - Wietske Maas, My Pocket – Burak Arikan [on-going lounge/bar area]

    20.30-21.15: video screenings: Mediashed “The Duellists”, Nicolas Provost “Plot Point”, Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay & Pascal Lievre “Patriotic”, Melse, Venet, Geurts, van Loenen “Published Security”, Basak kaptan “Terrace”, Efe Hizir “Bidi”, Dilara Kurtoglu,”Stimulasyon”, Denizcan Yüzgül “Aquarium” [main stage]

    21.30 – 22.00: 20-20000: The Infra Ultra Sound Society - Sasker Scheeerder & Radboud Mens [main stage]

    22.15 – 22.45: LSP - Edwin van der Heide [main stage]

    22.45 – 23.15: Koray Tahiroglu [main stage]

    23.15 – 1.30am: Not at Home [main stage]


    Body Odor No.5 - Maki Ueda (NL/J)
    [Performance Installation – bar/lounge area, 3h]
    For Japanese Dutch artist scent and smells (the olfactory) are a “new” medium. She creates scents which capture childhood, identity, a mood or a historical event. Within this context a person’s body odor can be used to identify the person, and is as distinctive and traceable as a fingerprint. The character of the smell is determined by many conditions, such as for example diet: we smell of, what we eat. So the Europeans are supposed to smell like cheese, and the Japanese like soy sauce. During the event Maki Ueda will, with
    her unique combination of skills and the mini-laboratory setup, extract the smells of different foodstuffs. The audience will then witness the live process of composing a "perfume" with the latter ingredients, which will replicate body odors, personal smell tags, if you will.

    Bio Maki Ueda (NL/J)
    Is an artist who in her current practice incorporates the olfactory sense in art. She is one of the few artists using smell as a creative medium. She has developed a unique combination of chemical and kitchen skills in order to extract scents of daily life, ranging from food, space, to bodily scents. She has participated art exhibitions concerning smell, such as “There Ever Was” (U.K., 2008).Previously Maki Ueda worked in the field of new media art. Her well-known work “Hole in the Earth” (2003) is a permanent public installation with realtime video, connecting Indonesia and Holland. She studied media art at The Environmental Information Studies Department (B.A., 1997) and at The Master School of Media and Governance (M.A., 1999), Keio University, Japan. She also attended courses at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery in France.
    artist's up-to-date(blog) [EN]: http://scent-lab.blogspot.com

    Program Day2 CitySense: “Security’s Spectacle: The Seen and The Unseen” Sunday 21th September
    Time: 15.00 – 17.30

    Format: audio-visual presentations, panel debate with moderator (Nat Muller/Basak Senova)

    Presentations by: Lemi Baruh (TR), Maki Ueda (NL/J), Wietske Maas (NL/AU), Sasker Scheerder (NL)

    Moderated and introduced by Nat Muller (independent curator) and Basak Senova (NOMAD)

    In cities in The Netherlands, as well as in Istanbul, we see an increase in the “spectacle of security”: more police, more metal detectors, more bag&body searches, more surveillance cameras, etc. This visual performance of surveillance and security significantly changes the outlook of our cities, but also how we experience them, conduct ourselves in and through these controlled zones, as well as how our conceptions of private and public are affected. Within the current obsession of assessing and exposing (=visualising) that which cannot be seen, i.e. the threat, how do the senses fare which are invisible, such as sound, smell and taste? Are they part and parcel of the system of control, and is what we hear, smell and taste pre-configured. Or can we, as is the case with counter-images, always find a system hack?

    Saturday, September 13, 2008

    Perfect Japanese Woman (Eau de Parfum) @ opening OTENBA

    Eau de Parfum Perfect Japanese Woman
    by Maki Ueda
















    No. 1
    Nukamiso
    - the scent of motherhood -

    There is an expression about housewives in Japanese: "A woman that stinks like Nukamiso". It's an expression for the women who are so much stuck in the family life that they are not attractive as women anymore.

    Nukamiso is salted rice-bran paste for making pickles called Nukazuke. Every family used to have a bucket that looks like a sauerkraut bucket. The Nukamiso paste needs daily maintenance. Therefor the hands of the housewives used to stink pretty sour like Nukazuke . Mentioning such a smell was used as a metaphor for insulting housewives.

    But that is slowly becoming the past. Nowadays, Nukazuke became something to buy at the supermarket, so no woman knows anymore how to make Nukazuke at home. In the near future women that stink like Nukamiso would not be seen with the traditional sense, but would be recognized as super feminine and sexy women! Don't be too late. When you serve Nukazuke to your husband, make sure that you spray this perfume on your hands, so that he thinks that you've made it yourself. This is the eternal scent for motherhood.


    No. 2
    Tatami
    - to become as young and fresh as new tatami -

    A Japanese proverb says: "Wives and tatami's are better when they are new."

    Tatami is the traditional Japanese carpet and floor woven from rush. The traditional house is made with tatami and shoji (rice paper doors and windows). New tatami is always preferred because it's clean and also giving the fresh and comforting smell of rush. However the smell disappears as time goes by. That has become a metaphor for a wife.

    You would question: is it only a wife that is better when it's fresh? How about a husband then? Let's leave that question aside for a moment. If you want to feel fresher and younger as a woman, this perfume is ideal for you. It's the perfume for any generations.

    Most of the Japanese women give up their jobs and become pure housewives when they get married or when they get children.


    No. 3
    Miso Soup
    - the scent of a woman in the kitchen -

    The happy morning is to wake up with the sound of the kitchen and the smell of miso soup ミ that's the traditional image of a family. Japanese people eat a warm meal in the morning. Perhaps it has already become the past.

    If you want to wake up your family with such an elegance, this perfume can help you. This Miso Soup Perfume can be used as a room spray. The family will wake up with the happiness resulting from the smell of Miso Soup.

    This perfume is also useful for fooling the nose of your husband, in case you want to pretend that you've been working all day in the kitchen.


    No. 4
    Soap
    - the scent of pureness and cleanness -

    One of the most important morning rituals for Japanese high school girls is to wash their hair just to scent the hair with the smell of shampoo. If you don't have time to take a shower in the morning, you can scent your hair and your body with this perfume: the smell of the soap.

    Japanese men prefer women that represent pureness and cleanness. Don't worry if you aren't. This perfume will also emphasize the attractive contrast in yourself.

    Japanese people like the smell of soap very much. Women often purchase perfumes that smell like a soap.


    Opening of the exhibition OTENBA @ Roodkapje, Rotterdam









    Soap (Eau de Parfum) - extraction









    Miso Soup (Eau de Parfum) - extraction







    Tatami (Eau de Parfum) - extraction











    Nukamiso (Eau de Parfum) - extraction



















    HOW TO BECOME A PERFECT JAPANESE WOMAN

    It's my observation about how women are expected to behave in the society in Japan. Some are outdated that they have already become a joke, but most of the part is still alive. This text was written around the time I moved to Holland. It became the basis for the perfume series Perfect Japanese Woman that I created for the exhibition OTENBA.


    ---
    -MANUAL- HOW TO BECOME A "PERFECT" JAPANESE WOMAN


    [1. GENERAL MANNER]

    1.1. Smile all the time.

    1.2. Smile cute.

    1.3. Don't show your emotions too much.

    1.4. Don't be opinionated too much. Behave as an innocent being. Follow men always faithfully.

    1.5. Don't show your cleverness too much, but it is important to be clever not to make any mistake on following things which are written here.

    1.6. Care and stay attentive to people around you all the time.

    1.7. Be nice and generous to the people around you all the time.

    1.8. Create the nice and soft atmosphere while talking, discussing, speaking.

    1.9. Speak Japanese Language in woman's style. (There is quite a big difference between man's Japanese and woman's Japanese.)

    1.10. Don't talk loud. Speak softly.

    1.11. Don't smoke.

    1.12. Don't wind.

    1.13. Don't belch.

    1.14. Don't pick your nose.

    1.15. Don't yawn without putting your hand over your mouth.

    1.16. Don't laugh too loud, but laugh softly. If you want to laugh loud, then put your hand over your mouth.

    1.17. Don't appeal your sexuality too much but stay sexy: Don't wear too tight trousers, because men could see through the line of your panty. Don't wear the white shirts with dark-colourd brassiere, because men could see through your bra, which is considered too sexy.

    1.18. Don't make-up in the public space. Go to a toilet when you do it.

    1.19. Show your weakness. Don't try to carry a heavy suitcase by yourself,
    try to ask men to help you. That will make your impression cute.

    1.20. Sit in woman's style. Bend your knees, and don't open your legs.

    1.21. When you stairs up, be careful not to let anybody see your panty.

    1.22. Don't walk bandy-legged.



    [2. BODY CARE AND FASHION]

    2.1. Shave your legs.

    2.2. Shave under your arms.

    2.3. Shave your chin.

    2.4. Keep your skin as smooth as possible.

    2.5. Keep your skin as white as possible. Don't let it sun tanned.

    2.6. Wash your face every morning and evening. After washing the face, put the cosmetic water (called "keshousui") and then milky cream (called "nyuueki"), and on the top, put UV-cut foundation. Pack your face once in a while.

    2.7. A liver spot on your skin is evil.

    2.8. Put make-up on always.

    2.9. Make up your hairs too.

    2.10. Keep your sole soft and clean.

    2.11. Wear skirts.

    2.12. Use the feminine color like pink efficiently in your fashion.


    [3. SANITARY CARE]

    3.1. Carry tissues or a handkerchief all the time with you. Be ready to use it when it is needed.

    3.2. Take a bath everyday and keep yourself clean.

    3.3. The impression of 'clean' is important.

    3.4. Don't let any man suspect when you have a period. Off course don't even tell him that you have a period.



    [4. TOILET]

    4.1. Don't let anybody suspect that you are going to the toilet. It will damage men's fantasy for women: "oh my god... how could such a lovely beautiful lady pee and poop...!" , for example.

    4.2. If you have to excuse yourself, say "Excuse me, but I go to pick up some flowers."

    4.3. Don't let anybody hear the sound when you pee/poop. Flush before you start things so that the water sound erases the sound you make. A lot often each room has a speaker which makes an fake water sound, so use this one to be ecological friendly.



    [5. AT THE OFFICE]

    5.1. Make a tea or a coffee for men always. You offer before being asked.

    5.2. Don't say your opinion.

    5.3. Don't show your ability of work too much; always respect a man;Remember that you are a woman and stay smile, patient, passive, then you will never get fired from companies.



    [6. SHOPPING]

    6.1. If you've bought some toilet papers, then you should put them in a bag, not to make it too obvious that you carry toilet papers with you. Be aware that holding toilet papers is not for perfect Japanese woman.

    6.2. If you buy some napkins or tampons at the convenience store like Seven Eleven, and if a man is working at the checking counter, be aware that he would be shamed to touch them. Better to avoid it, and look for another convenient store. But if it is urgent, get something else as well, for example,
    drinks. He would be educated to wrap napkins/tampons separately in a non-transparent paper bag.



    [7. AT HOME]

    7.1. Cook always. Women have to cook. Don't even ask men to cook. Follow the cooking book not to make any mistakes.

    7.2. Do the houseworks proper. Be ready before your husband comes back home.

    7.3. When your husband comes back home, ask first "Would you like to eat now or take a bath first?"

    7.4. Perform an ideal housewife for your husband. Marriage for men is often all about this fantasy.



    [8. DATE/DINNER/PARTY]

    8.1. Stay passive like a beautiful doll.

    8.2. Don't finish the whole dish. Always leave some food on the plate. That will make an impression as a modest girl.

    8.3. Be careful about alcohol. Wait for men to suggest you to drink. You may accompany them with drinking, but not too much. Stay sober. Any mistake should not happen.

    8.4. Fill men's glass always. It is especially important if you are at the company dinner. Don't ever make their glasses empty. Pour before they finish the glasses. When you pour beer from a bottle, right hand should be on the label of the bottle, and the left hand should hold the top part of the bottle.

    8.5. Care and maintain your make-up all the time.



    [9. SEX]

    9.1. Don't seduce men. Women are to be seduced. Don't say no when men ask for it.

    9.2. Stay passive. Men insert. Don't request too much. Behave like you are feeling good.

    9.3. Behave yourself like you are unexperienced and ashamed as if you are virgin. Men have a big fantasy for virgins.

    9.4. Make a sexy voice.

    (ver.2 June 19, 2002 Maki Ueda)

    Thursday, September 11, 2008

    releasing eau de parfum Perfect Japanese Woman

    Dear Friends,
    I look forward to see you at the opening of the exhibition that I participate...

    when >
    Opening: 12.09.08 (Fri) 21:00 -
    Exhibition: 12.09.08 - 01.11.08

    where >
    Roodkapje
    Witte de Withstraat 13A
    3012 BK Rotterdam

    about the exbition OTENBA >
    OTENBA means tomboy in Japanese. Supposedly it is derived from the Dutch word "ontembaar". OTENBA presents the works of Japanese artists who currently reside in Holland. In their work they reflect on the way a new and individualistic environment influences their creative behavior. OTENBA is collaboration between curators Martijn Kluit and Nico Kos (festival CAMERA JAPAN)and Roodkapje. The exhibition is a part of Camera Japan Festival and Wereld van Witte de With Festival.

    participating artists >
    Michiyo Kuramochi Hayes, Kyoko Inatome's, Oyuki Hatazawa, Maki Ueda, Eiko Ishizawa, Nishiko, Haruna Kishi.

    about the work of Maki Ueda>
    Maki Ueda will release the new perfume lineup Eau de Parfum Perfect Japanese Woman

    No. 1
    Nukamiso
    - the scent of motherhood -

    There is an expression about housewives in Japanese: "A woman that stinks like Nukamiso". It's an expression for the women who are so much stuck in the family life that they are not attractive as women anymore.

    Nukamiso is salted rice-bran paste for making pickles called Nukazuke. Every family used to have a bucket that looks like a sauerkraut bucket. The Nukamiso paste needs daily maintenance. Therefor the hands of the housewives used to stink pretty sour like Nukazuke . Mentioning such a smell was used as a metaphor for insulting housewives.

    But that is slowly becoming the past. Nowadays, Nukazuke became something to buy at the supermarket, so no woman knows anymore how to make Nukazuke at home. In the near future women that stink like Nukamiso would not be seen with the traditional sense, but would be recognized as super feminine and sexy women! Don't be too late. When you serve Nukazuke to your husband, make sure that you spray this perfume on your hands, so that he thinks that you've made it yourself. This is the eternal scent for motherhood.


    No. 2
    Tatami
    - to become as young and fresh as new tatami -

    A Japanese proverb says: "Wives and tatami's are better when they are new."

    Tatami is the traditional Japanese carpet and floor woven from rush. The traditional house is made with tatami and shoji (rice paper doors and windows). New tatami is always preferred because it's clean and also giving the fresh and comforting smell of rush. However the smell disappears as time goes by. That has become a metaphor for a wife.

    You would question: is it only a wife that is better when it's fresh? How about a husband then? Let's leave that question aside for a moment. If you want to feel fresher and younger as a woman, this perfume is ideal for you. It's the perfume for any generations.

    Most of the Japanese women give up their jobs and become pure housewives when they get married or when they get children.


    No. 3
    Miso Soup
    - the scent of a woman in the kitchen -

    The happy morning is to wake up with the sound of the kitchen and the smell of miso soup ミ that's the traditional image of a family. Japanese people eat a warm meal in the morning. Perhaps it has already become the past.

    If you want to wake up your family with such an elegance, this perfume can help you. This Miso Soup Perfume can be used as a room spray. The family will wake up with the happiness resulting from the smell of Miso Soup.

    This perfume is also useful for fooling the nose of your husband, in case you want to pretend that you've been working all day in the kitchen.


    No. 4
    Soap
    - the scent of pureness and cleanness -

    One of the most important morning rituals for Japanese high school girls is to wash their hair just to scent the hair with the smell of shampoo. If you don't have time to take a shower in the morning, you can scent your hair and your body with this perfume: the smell of the soap.

    Japanese men prefer women that represent pureness and cleanness. Don't worry if you aren't. This perfume will also emphasize the attractive contrast in yourself.

    Japanese people like the smell of soap very much. Women often purchase perfumes that smell like a soap.


    more info >
    More info festival Camera Japan: www.camerajapan.nl
    More info festival Wereld van Witte de With: www.festivalwww.nl
    More info OTENBA: http://www.roodkapje.org/site/?page_id=6
    More info Maki Ueda: http://www.ueda.nl

    OTENBA is possible with the support of Rotterdam Festivals, Elize Mathilde Fonds, Dienst Kunst en Cultuur Rotterdam, Stichting Bevordering van Volkskracht, VSB Fonds and Stichting Doen.

    Monday, September 01, 2008

    green tea diffuser of tea shop

    On the sopping street in Japan you often see such a machine that diffuses the roasted tea smell.



    It's a tea roaster. They roast the green tea and make brown tea called "hojicha". The pungent smell attracts the customers on the street.



    Japanese toilet paper



    This toilet paper is scented with green tea fragrance. Imagine you smell the green tea in the toilet! I found it very Japanese.

    By the way... did you know that such a chewing gum exist?
    chewing gum that makes you smell like rose

    With this gum you can erase your body smell, and let your whole body diffuse the smell of rose... For whom? For the midlife men. For what? To attract the young girls off course!