Craig Wood has used a die-cut pattern to mimic the particular pattern of ventilation holes in a plastic supermarket own-brand gel air freshener. This is part of a series of works which exploit these stylised floral patterns and colours, which are intended to promote in the consumer the notion of fresh; they have fragrant, evocative names such as Alpine Garden, Forest Glade and Floral. In reality the chemical concoction within is merely an artificial mask of the more mundane and unpleasant odours of domesticity. Wood has long been fascinated by the detritus of consumer culture, his training as an architectural draughtsman and experience of drawing archaeological finds has influenced both his style and his sense of history. He is very aware that civilisations are studied and classified by the artefacts they leave behind, to be discovered by succeeding generations.

This work comes from the Londonportfolio, one of the most significant British print publications of the 1990s.

Multiple Choice: Prints by Young British Artists, The British Council 1997

Further reading:
Contemporary British Arts in Print, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and The Paragon Press, 1995 (texts by Jeremy Lewison, Patrick Elliott and Duncan Macmillan)