Butterfly, 2025 - Hexadecanal, musks, baby powder oil. A sketch for a longer project - in 2025 I developed this work, Butterfly which was shown first at St Margaret’s Chapel and now currently at @piccalilli.gallery until April 17th.. The work came about as my interest in chemical signalling, pheromones and the olfactory and my part time job working for a paediatrician in a hospital where I see newborns almost everyday and wondered whether being around so many newborn babies effected how behaved and felt. I think I literally googled “baby pheromone” and found articles and papers about Hexadecanal from 2021. I was over enthusiastic about finding out about this material, interested in how a chemical from a baby’s head could be synthesised and used in testing to effect human behaviour - how it could trigger protective behaviours that differed between men and women. I was interested in the novelty of this research and wanted to make a work that speculated on how it could be used and weaponised commercially to control and influence behaviour. There is something kind of scary and strange about replicating and isolating the olfactory presence of a newborn baby. I emailed one of the researchers on the paper to ask about how to use Hexadecanal, around the safety and logistics around it alongside the findings of their research and they advised me.
The only research paper into Hexadecanal on effecting behaviour was commissioned by a consortium of Isra3li, German and Japanese institutions. The work is inherently critical but still - I should have been more critical, delicate and discerning about sourcing research and knowledge for this project from those affiliated with Israeli institutions.
Artist News: Ella Fleck is included in the Contemporary Art Society's 'On Our Radar' winter list.
We are very pleased to announce that Ella will be exhibiting at Matt's Gallery in Autumn 2027 and look forward to working with her.
On Our Radar highlights the careers of emerging and mid-career artists who are developing a distinctive visual vocabulary and forging practices that speak directly to our contemporary moment.
Contemporary Art Society about Ella' work:
"Ella Fleck works with scent, sculpture, audio and text to investigate the psychosexual infrastructures and affective economies of digital culture and contemporary life. Ella's practice unfolds through immersive research and sensory environments that destabilise conventional boundaries of subjectivity, desire, and social structures."
Image: Ella Fleck, 'Spray' 2024-25, installation view, Season 4 Episode 6, London. Photos by Studio Adamson
@fleels@contemporaryartsociety
On Our Radar: Winter ❄️
The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) was founded by members of the Bloomsbury Group, a cohort of artists, writers and intellectuals who understood how much artists need support at the beginning of their careers. In honour of our history, we’re continuing the tradition in a new way – by offering a seasonal spotlight to artists creating bold and dynamic work today.
On Our Radar shines a light on the careers of emerging and mid-career artists who are developing a distinctive visual vocabulary in a highly competitive environment – and who, regardless of the demands of the market – are forging practices that speak directly to our contemporary moment.
Amid the rainy skies and slowly lengthening days of the new year, we’re excited to announce the next list of artists. Click the link in our bio to find out who has made the Winter list.
