M Dougherty

The Rise of Medusa

Three scents for Goldie Poblador's glass sculptures about the 2023 oil spill in the Verde Island Passage, Philippines.

Years
2025 to 2026
Role
Scent artist, perfumer
Lead artist
Goldie Poblador
Scents
Oil Slick, Dead Coral, Verde
Sound
Ben Richter, five sound sculptures
Performance
Arvin Nogueras (Caliph8), Ben Richter, M Dougherty
Curator, Manila
Erwin Romulo
Yellow branching glass sculpture on a black disc, lit from one side
Glass sculpture by Goldie Poblador. Photo courtesy of the artist.

About the work

An oil spill in 2023 devastated the marine ecosystem of the Verde Island Passage. Goldie Poblador's glass sculptures answer it, merging female bodies with invertebrates from the passage, shaped with the glass-blowing techniques Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka used for their marine models. The work is the second stage of her series Sea Anomaly.

I made three scents for it, called Oil Slick, Dead Coral and Verde. They follow the passage from damage toward recovery, and sit with five sound sculptures by Ben Richter, so the room is read through sight, smell and sound together.

M to add the brief, how the three scents were built, and what changed between shows.

Green glass figure with tentacles on a black disc
Photo courtesy of Goldie Poblador.

The scents

Three scents follow the passage from damage toward recovery.

  1. Oil Slick

    A suffocating blend of petrochemicals and gasoline that captures the invasive, toxic presence of oil spilling into the ocean. This scent clings to the air like the devastating film suffocating marine life.

    notes metallic sharpness with acrid smokiness and the faint, decaying sweetness of contaminated waters

  2. Dead Coral

    A stark portrait of decay and loss, evoking the skeletal remains of bleached and lifeless coral. Mineralic and saline, it carries the bitter truth of what is left behind, bone and stone stripped of vitality.

    notes cool, salty, mineral, powdery and dry

  3. Verde

    A breath of hope amidst devastation, Verde celebrates the thriving life that still endures. A fictional muguet, this scent blends the salty brightness of green mango flower with the lush vibrancy of the Philippines’ marine flora and fauna, a tribute to the resilience of the sea.

    notes Fresh and green, with citrus brightness, tropical florals, and a salty, and watery lift

Three black discs with glass sculptures on white plinths in a gallery
Installation view. Photo courtesy of Goldie Poblador.

Each showing

Every showing of The Rise of Medusa takes a different form. In Manila and New York it was performed live, with sound and scent. Others showed the sculptures and scents on their own, for visitors to explore by themselves.

Goldie Poblador makes and updates the forms, so the piece keeps evolving.

Shown at

Press

Credits

Glass, concept and performance: Goldie Poblador. Scent: M Dougherty. Sound sculptures: Ben Richter. Sound: Arvin Nogueras (Caliph8). Curator, Manila: Erwin Romulo. Text: Marv Recinto. Made possible through a grant from The Puffin Foundation and a residency at the Corning Museum of Glass.