For more than two decades, Maciá has developed what he calls Olfactory Acoustic Composition—a new artistic language grounded in the “volume of smell” and the “volume of sound.” His compositions draw on field recordings made in rainforests, deserts, and polar regions, combined with a vast “smell library” developed through years of collaboration with perfumers and scientists.
Migratory Movements is conceived as a series of “notes” for a sculptural composition. It brings together visual observations on the communication and interdependence between species, such as insects and flowers, alongside olfactory reflections on consciousness, all presented in dialogue with Maciá’s 2001 sound work Tomorrow will be Cloudy. The sound is embedded within benches designed in collaboration with Jasper Morrison. It takes as its starting point John Wilkins’ 1668 attempt to systematically catalogue the animals said to have boarded Noah’s Ark. Maciá’s new pastels, frescoes, and ink works on paper interact with both sound and smell, seeking to register the continuous movement of often unseen forces in the natural world.
“I am always seeking to extend the language of sculpture using sound and smell as well as vision to create volumes in space. This selection of movements is a kind of monument to celebrate migration in nature—whether plants, animals or humans—and the cross-pollination that all life depends upon. While I work with these forces, I am trying to create the opposite of stagnation.” – Oswaldo Maciá.
One of the “notes” in the composition is a series of frescoes created with natural pigments in the buon fresco tradition. Depicting flowers and insects, they reference species whose histories are intertwined with movement, extinction, and transformation. One example is a fresco referencing the American cockroach, a species introduced to the Americas from Africa in the 17th century, which is part of the force of movement. A pastel on Tiziano paper depicts the Dead Horse Lily, a plant that mimics the scent of decay to attract pollinators, exemplifying nature’s ingenuity and the hidden communication between species.
Migratory Movements is curated by Maria do Carmo M.P. de Pontes.
Oswaldo Maciá: Migratory Movements will run from 5th December 2025 – 15th February 2026, at Elizabeth Xi Bauer’s Exmouth Market location, open Wednesday through to Sunday, 12 – 6 pm or by appointment. A Private View will be held on 4th December 2025, 6 – 8 pm.
