Maison Martin Margiela's SHOWcabinet exhibition was centred around memory. It explored the pivotal role of scent in triggering reminiscence and featured Margiela's 'Replica' range of fragrances. In this exhibition, Margiela and SHOWstudio collaborated to create an installation that examined this olfactory manner of recollection.
As part of the exhibition, a collection of illustrators were asked to create an original drawing that depicted a personal memory prompted by one of the Maison's Replica perfumes. Each artist was allocated one of the perfumes and asked to illustrate a personal memory that the smell of the perfume evoked. The artworks were then exhibited in a bespoke display case mimicking the installation of relics in museums. Instead of tracing a history through tangible objects, these drawings, therefore, represent ethereal traces of moments past. Accompanying the drawings was a perfume bar to sample the scents, a selection of haute couture pieces and selected objects from Line 13 associated with the concept of memory.
The artists featured in the exhibition are Richard Gray, Piet Paris, Cathrine Raben Davidsen, Laura Laine, Claire Barrow, Tobie Giddio, Valerie Servais, Kukula, Rei Nadal, Tara Dougans, Amelie Hegardt, Helen Bullock, Fiona Gourlay, Stephen Doherty, Jowy Maasdamme, Josie Hall, Conrad Roset, Quentin Jones, Jo Ratcliffe, Neza Agnes Momirski, Alexandra Levasseur