Curated by Alice Cicolini for gallery director Mark Davy, the exhibition took place on the top floor of Foyles bookshop. "An Ode to A Rebours" in keeping with its location, took its inspiration from a novel. The starting point for the project was Des Esseintes, the protagonist at the centre of J K Huysmans’s 19th century novel "A Rebours."
"The enduring appeal of the dandy, both in literature and practice, seems to sustain for every generation," writes Alice Cicolini. "As one of the key works of the French Decadent movement, "A Rebours" offers something for those both inspired and horrified by the opulence of Des Esseintes’ material consumption. This exhibition focuses on his appreciation of master-craftsmanship, his rendering of nature through the surfaces of the domestic interior, and of the sensory spectacle he develops around himself, to explore the work of twelve contemporary practitioners whose practice draws inspiration from similar themes."
With the focus on the spectacle of nature, the exhibition includes work by Shaun Leane, Emma Yeo, Timorous Beasties, Glithero, Studio Swine, Jason Marks and Fabien Cappello, amongst others. The project also saw Alice collaborate with sensory branding agency Vetyver, who use sense technology to create 3D experiences. Here they worked with ceramicist Jason Marks, sound engineers from Nottingham University and their own in-house perfumers to enhance and emphasise the opulence and cool refinement the curators were trying to achieve.
Exhibition design was by Alice Cicolini and graphics by Giulia Garbin.