To celebrate the best of Scandinavian perfumery, Stockholm-based photographer Johan Rydberg created a stunning series of still lifes. Boldly disobeying the laws of gravity, minimalist flacons hover weightlessly above a scene of iron and steel—held in place only by the masterful arts of mathematics and engineering.
Over the last few years, a unique landscape of perfumers and brands has cropped up in the northern countries of Europe. With a fresh take on classics, and often inspired by the natural resources of their native lands, these innovators are adding exciting new olfactive colors to the global palette of perfumery. Here at SCENTURY, we’ve singled out certain creations by Scandinavian perfume brands in the past, but this is our first editorial dedicated entirely to an inspiring bunch of Norse men and women.
Johan Rydberg is known for his ingenious approach to still life photography, marrying the precise with the surprising, and often infusing a dash of subtle humor into his work. Here, he teamed up with the first-rate retouchers at Layer 1 to finish off what we think is perfection with perfection.
Enjoy the high precision poetry of Johan Rydberg and discover six olfactive delights from Scandinavia!
PHOTOGRAPHY: Johan Rydberg
RETOUCHING: Layer 1
Northern Delights.
The architectural beauty of Scandinavian perfumery.
01. Agonist: Isis
Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins.
—Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
YEAR: 2013
PERFUMER: Agonist
www.agonistparfums.com
02. Svensk Parfym: Prakt
Architecture is the reaching out for the truth.
—Louis Kahn
YEAR: 2017
PERFUMER: Henrik Lestréus
www.svenskparfym.se
03. SG79 STHLM: No.1
Architecture aims at eternity.
—Christopher Wren
YEAR: 2016
PERUMER: unknown
www.sg79sthlm.com
04. Björk & Berries: Solstice, White Forest
I call architecture frozen music.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
SOLSTICE
YEAR: 2017
PERFUMER: Pierre Wulff, Jerome Epinette
www.bjorkandberries.com
WHITE FOREST
YEAR: 2016
PERFUMER: Jerome Epinette
www.bjorkandberries.com
05. Son Venin: Pur 01
I’m quite into the idea of engineering being beautiful.
—Sean Booth
YEAR: 2016
PERFUMER: Dag Solhaug Laska, Svein Haakon Lia
www.sonvenin.com
06. Stora Skuggan: Moonmilk
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
—Leonardo da Vinci
YEAR: 2017
PERFUMER: Tomas Hempel
www.storaskuggan.com
If you enjoyed our olfactive Bauhaus tribute you might also like this minimalist perfume editorial.