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Record · 2024

Letters from 221B Baker Street: Scents of Shadow

Letters from 221B Baker Street: Scents of Shadow was R Parfums’ second scent exhibition, open from 6 to 15 December 2024 at the 34 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu store in Ho Chi Minh City. Among 1,000 hanging letters, Rei Nguyen told eight stories of Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty, of light and dark, in eight scents.

Hundreds of printed letter pages hanging on fine wires, floating in the red-orange light of the exhibition room

At a glance

Dates
6–15 December 2024
Place
34 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu, An Khánh Ward
Type
Second scent exhibition
Perfumer
Rei Nguyen
Admission
Free, by advance registration for a time slot

Opening words

Perfume is more than just a fragrance, it’s a way to tell stories, to capture emotions and moments. Each creation begins with an idea, a memory, or a feeling that we perfumers want to bring to life through scents.
Rei NguyenRead all eight stories →

The exhibition

Eight stories, light and dark

Four stories belong to Sherlock Holmes’s room, four to Moriarty’s; each story is a scent. The full text is in one Journal article; Rei’s voice telling seven of the eight, most in both Vietnamese and English, is in the Listening Room.

  1. 01London FogTrong màn sương bụi giữa Luân ĐônReadListen
  2. 02The Sign of FourGiải mã “Dấu bộ tứ”ReadListen
  3. 03The SoulTrái tim của kẻ liều lĩnh mộng mơReadListen
  4. 04Letters to 221B Baker StreetLá thư gửi đến số nhà 221B đường Baker, Luân ĐônReadListen
  5. 05The Napoleon of CrimeKẻ chinh phạt bóng tốiReadListen
  6. 06The DriveĐộng cơRead
  7. 07The Reichenbach FallsVực sángReadListen
  8. 08Shadow ÉclatBóng đêm rực rỡReadListen
Listen to Rei’s greeting in the Listening RoomChapters IV and V: 221B · Shadow Éclat →

Inside the exhibition

  • A path through a dense forest of hanging letters, leading to a metallic mesh form above a pool of warm light; a red card on the left, a yellow card on the right
  • Close-up of curved pages from a Vietnamese edition of the Sherlock Holmes stories, hanging on wires, blurred violet-orange light behind
  • A crumpled metallic mesh form on a glass plinth among hanging letter pages, with the yellow card for The Napoleon of Crime behind it
  • Five folded cream sample sleeves printed with R PARFUMS, one showing a small vial, lined up on a tray over a red cloth
  • The yellow card for The Napoleon of Crime – Conqueror of Shadows, a text on Moriarty listing pink grapefruit, rose, patchouli and leather
  • Letter pages hanging against a dark wall, the front layer blurred in pink-orange light
    1,000 letters: some taken from Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, others written by Rei Nguyen to Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty.
  • The projected words “Are you bad?” on an orange wall, beside a forest of letters blurred in motion

Documents

In writing

In the Journal

Press

“Letters from 221B Baker Street: Scents of Shadow” invites visitors into the world of the detective story, where opposing shades clash.
L’OfficielRead the article in the Journal
  • Style Republik

The scent that stays

221B and Shadow Éclat, today

The eighth story, Shadow Éclat, was first shown to the public at this exhibition. Shadow Éclat later became R Parfums’ sixth scent, alongside 221B.

Where to smell →
Currently unavailable · expected back late November
Currently unavailable · expected back late November

Prices include 8% VAT.

What came next

Two months later, the exhibition travelled to Hanoi

Light and Shadow14–20 February 2025 · TÁCH Spaces, Hanoi

The next opening has no date yet. Our newsletter brings the news when a new chapter opens.

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