Visit Elixir: Mood, the experimental, multi-sensory type exhibition in a box

Want to experience an exhibition with a difference? Take a look around Elixir: Mood, the latest project from author, graphic designer and Type Tasting founder Sarah Hyndman, which packs the format of an installation into the confines of a little box.

Written By: Dom Carter

21 March 2022

Clear capsules and black "ALERT" labels arranged on a white surface, part of the multi-sensory Elixir: Mood exhibition box contents

The Elixir: Mood project, launched this month, promises to "take you on a journey into different moods". It does this by removing the traditional boundaries of exhibition space and blurring the lines between physical and digital realities.

Inside each exhibition box, you will find a set of art and assets designed to appeal to all of your senses. These include three limited edition Zine-style exhibition guides that will introduce you to all of the works contained in Elixir: Mood. Each one features a contrasting pair of moodscapes that have been specially designed to take you out of your day-to-day activities, and their moods range from meditative to energising.

White Elixir: Mood exhibition box with branded sticker on textured grey background

Page from Elixir: Mood zine held up to light revealing hidden text including "Susurration", "Like a deep breath" and "Sigh

Contents of Elixir: Mood exhibition box laid out on grey fabric, including black and white exhibition guides, scent sample packets and product packaging

Thanks to Sarah's clever design work, you can interact with each of the six moods through language, links, textures, smells and typographic meditations. Simply choose which one you would like to explore and indulge in them at your leisure.

Also contained in each zine are gallery photographs, recordings of sonic ambience, kinetic type, scents, feet textures and even secrets waiting to be discovered when held up to a light.

And because this is a project from the founder of Type Tasting, a special typeface has been used to signpost each mood in the zines. The shapes of the letters provide clues to the nature of the soundscapes, and when combined with the language, it provides a foundation for each soundscape. Each typeface is suspended in a pill-like capsule in the physical exhibition.

Contents of Elixir: Mood exhibition box including zine guides, scent packets and sensory materials arranged on grey fabric

Clear capsules with black and white text labels inside a circular plastic container, part of the Elixir: Mood exhibition box

Open exhibition guide for Elixir: Mood showing a beaker illustration and mood selection flowchart, surrounded by zine guides and supplementary materials in the box

"Elixir: Mood is inspired by elements from the immersive physical installations I've designed for events and exhibitions, including Adobe MAX in Los Angeles and Sense Me at the Trapholt Museum in Denmark," says Sarah.

"These are combined with the interactive and sensorial elements I developed to counteract Zoom fatigue in my online events during lockdowns. I think that mixing ideas from virtual and physical realities opens up exciting new possibilities for the future of events and exhibitions."

If you want to experience Elixir: Mood, don't hang around. Only 100 editions will be produced, and even then, they will only be released in batches of 20 because they are painstakingly made by hand. Each Elixir Mood box comes signed, numbered and embossed with a stamp, with the first 20 boxes set to cost £40, including postage to a UK address.