Partnerships

The secret garden.

An interplay of light, sounds, scents and materials: Dr. Hauschka invited artist Eyal Burstein to create an installation that touches all the senses. We take a walk through the magic garden at NOMAD art fair in Venice.

It is pitch black in the room. Only four shafts of light pierce the darkness, and anyone who enters this unfamiliar environment immediately feels their senses at work. “I wanted to create the feeling of actually being in a magic garden,” says artist Eyal Burstein about his installation. “Simplicity and tranquillity are the values I want to make accessible to the audience.”

In his garden, every single sense is touched in a restrained, gentle way. Dr. Hauschka perfumer Jörg Zimmermann has combined essential oils to create a unique “fragrance collage” that works in harmony with the background sounds of nature. This sound and scent complement four columns of light. Each shaft falls onto a small glass cube sitting on a round marble slab, which reflects it onto a centrally positioned prism. From there, it scatters warm colours in all directions. 

“We are often overworked in our daily lives. But here in this garden, each sense has only one task: The eyes only see the light; the ears only hear the sounds of nature. This focus calms the body and the mind, and it was interesting to see what effect that had on the audience."

The structure of the installation symbolises the acronym WALA: “warmth, ash, light, ash” – the unique preservation method developed by company founder Rudolf Hauschka. “Many people know hardly anything about the company behind the products, but there is so much to tell,” explains Burstein.

“For me, there is something magical about this garden. It is precious. My intention was to create something that reflected the attitude of the Dr. Hauschka brand: The medicinal herb garden as its most valuable asset that must be protected but also shared.”

Eyal Burstein created his public garden for the NOMAD fair in Venice, in the midst of a vibrant city full of art and design. “I always have certain wishes or expectations about the impact my art will have on people. I have no influence over what actually happens once it's out there. But it made me happy to see people leave the hectic environment, enter the garden, and find peace and relaxation for their senses for a short while.”