Harmonious Healing (2020)

Essential oils have been traditionally used as medicinal treatments for hundreds of years. However recently, the wellness industry has commercially marketed essential oils, making claims that they are able to treat specific medical conditions. Essential oils’ rising popularity is part of the contemporary desire for “wellness” – embracing holistic practices which are associated with “healthy-living”. These practices range from the modest – like meditation – to the eccentric – such as expensive “adaptogenic” plant formulas which claim to aid the body in resisting stressors of all kinds. For many consumers, essential oils and their complementary remedies represent a “purer” more “authentic” form of medicine, one without the baggage of modern medicine. Although many essential oils have pleasant smells and some of their active ingredients are purported to have health benefits, there is limited scientific evidence that they actually improve people's health or mood.

Each of the bottles in the edition of nine carry a formula of lavender, rosemary, cedarwood, and clove oils – all of which are commonly found commercial oil blends. Every word present on the labels of the bottles – from the title to each individual health claim – has come from essential oils which are currently on the market. The blend is priced at $58 which falls within the average price point for many of these blends. The assumption is that when most people see this product, they will be skeptical and not believe it’s claims. Would this be different if the product was produced by a large company? By using the same language that wellness companies use to market their products, this work seeks to question the ways in which these products are perceived by consumers, and what makes people believe their claims.