In this exhibition, the space is composed through the project concept and approach of THEY ARE HERE, together with photographs and videos shared by six friends and family members living in Gaza—people with whom composer Marihiko Hara has remained in continuous contact over the years.
These visual materials are carefully woven into his musical works, creating an experience that gently connects image, sound, and presence.
To this environment, we added scent.
Through research into plants that have deep historical, religious, and everyday significance in Palestine and Gaza, we composed a fragrance that becomes part of the spatial experience of the exhibition.
—
Their lives exist much like our own.
Talking with friends, singing with children, spending time by the sea.
Greeting the day in gardens where herbs and olive trees grow.
The plants rooted in this land have long been intertwined with human life,
carried through generations within culture, prayer, and daily living.
Olive leaves evoke both peace and the memory of the shared table.
The deep resonance of myrrh and frankincense connects to the religious histories of the Middle East,
layered with the vivid breath of thyme and oregano.
Together, these scents cleanse the space, carry prayer, and quietly affirm the reality of living.
This fragrance gently reconnects a longing for return,
becoming a small guidepost—
a way to find a faint light within an uncertain future.
⸻
Ingredients:
Olive Leaf / White Sage / Myrrh / Frankincense / Damask Rose / Thyme / Oregano / Marjoram Swee
