three ceramic sculptures diffuse distinct fragrances evoking puglia’s landscapes

three olfactory sculptures by coco brun diffuse scents of puglia's sea, earth and vegetation, composed with perfumer laurène sourdillon of givaudan.

Elise edited by christina vergopoulou October 9, 2026 4 min

Coco Brun translates Puglia’s eroded landscapes into ceramics

Landscape Memories is an olfactory installation by French artist and designer Coco Brun that translates the landscapes of Puglia, southern Italy, into three ceramic sculptures that diffuse distinct fragrances. Developed during the D.Puglia residency, curated by Gordana Zgonjanin, the project draws on research into the region’s coastline, where erosion and the shifting relationship between land and sea shape the terrain.

The three sculptures take their forms from caves and underground geological formations. Surface patterns derived from 3D scans of Puglian caves are reproduced through ceramic extrusion, developed and produced in Milan with SuperForma. A programmed printing process builds the surfaces layer by layer, while the clay’s behavior during printing, drying, and firing produces visible drips, twists, and irregularities. The sculptures share a modular system that can be assembled in different configurations, with integrated openings allowing air and fragrance to circulate.

three ceramic sculptures diffuse distinct fragrances evoking puglia’s landscapes - 1 — all images by Federica Livia, Rebecca Pissina

Ceramic sculptures diffuse scents of Sea, earth, and vegetation

Artist and designer Coco Brun collaborates with perfumer Laurène Sourdillon of Givaudan Paris for the creation of the three scents, Marino, Terra, and Bosco, which represent the sea, earth, and Mediterranean vegetation. Each fragrance can be experienced separately within its corresponding sculpture. As the scents circulate simultaneously through the exhibition space, they overlap to create a fourth olfactory impression that was never composed independently. Its perception changes with air currents, visitors’ positions, and the timing of the experience.

The fragrances are diffused through ORB, a dry-air olfactory diffusion device developed by Genius Loci and integrated into the sculptures. Each rechargeable sphere features an artisan-crafted, perforated casing inspired by organic forms found in the landscape.

three ceramic sculptures diffuse distinct fragrances evoking puglia’s landscapes - 2 — Landscape Memories is an olfactory installation by French artist and designer Coco Brun

Landscape Memories sensory Installation beyond the gallery

Presented at Villa Saporiti during the Lake Como Design Festival 2026, as part of Border / Confine, curated by Giovanna Massoni and Francesca Prandelli, the installation brings ceramic forms into dialogue with an invisible, shifting material. The project is being developed further, with redesigned sculptures and new textile and graphic works planned to extend the installation across two and three dimensions in future presentations in 2027.

three ceramic sculptures diffuse distinct fragrances evoking puglia’s landscapes - 3 — the sculptures take their forms from caves and underground geological formations

three ceramic sculptures diffuse distinct fragrances evoking puglia’s landscapes - 4 — openings in the ceramic modules allow air and fragrance to circulate

landscape-memories-olfactory-installation-coco-brun-landscapes-puglia-ceramics-fragrances-designboom-1800-1 — ceramic extrusion builds the sculptures’ surfaces layer by layer

three ceramic sculptures diffuse distinct fragrances evoking puglia’s landscapes - 5 — ORB, a dry-air diffusion device, is integrated into the sculptures

three ceramic sculptures diffuse distinct fragrances evoking puglia’s landscapes - 6 — each rechargeable ORB sphere features a perforated casing inspired by organic landscape forms

landscape-memories-olfactory-installation-coco-brun-landscapes-puglia-ceramics-fragrances-designboom-1800-2 — the combined fragrance emerges through the interaction of the three compositions

three ceramic sculptures diffuse distinct fragrances evoking puglia’s landscapes - 7 — the printing, drying, and firing processes produce irregularities in the clay

three ceramic sculptures diffuse distinct fragrances evoking puglia’s landscapes - 8 — visible drips and twists record the material’s behavior during fabrication

landscape-memories-olfactory-installation-coco-brun-landscapes-puglia-ceramics-fragrances-designboom-1800-3 — the installation draws on research into Puglia’s coastline and its changing relationship between land and sea

project info:

name: Landscape Memories
artist: Coco Brun | @c_o_c_o_brun

perfumes: Laurène Sourdillon, Givaudan Paris

ceramics: SuperForma srl, Milan – Mattia Ciurnelli, Lorenzo Falegnami, Silvio Caniglia

olfactory diffusion device: ORB by Genius Loci

photographer: Federica Livia | @federicalivia__, Rebecca Pissina | @repsss

research developed during: D.Puglia residency, curated by Gordana Zgonjanin

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