Intimate City/City Intimacy

by Tessa Liebman

Intimate City/City Intimacy is an olfactory translation of the ideas and feelings I’ve felt in the last year or two as I’ve encountered humans (and other inhabitants of this city) again after being isolated during the pandemic. I grew up in New York City and have somehow become very accustomed to the forced proximity and involuntary intimacy the city demands. It is something that I think makes New Yorkers so connected, empathetic towards and unfazed by each other in all of our forms, allowing us to move gracefully through spaces and places so densely packed. Many new to New York are shocked and disgusted, delighted, deeply affected by this instant and literal closeness. I felt that re-emerging from the pandemic was like a new introduction to this slightly forgotten and very familiar world of nearness; smelling the alcohol on the breath of a fellow subway rider, recalling the fragrance worn by someone queuing up for toilet paper in front of me, brushing past the greasy hair of an exhausted line cook I recognize by their footwear and fingers. This scent and bottle are a collage of this tender and unavoidable interconnectedness.

Notes: Base: Labdanum, Birch Tar, Animalis Hypo, Synthetic Civet Absolute Heart: Ylang Ylang, Iso E Super Top: Wild Orange, Rum Ether