Abdulla Buhijji’s Open Apothecary series explores the transformation and alchemy of everyday materials. In his work, Buhijji honors ancestral recipes and healing practices, transforming folk wisdoms into buhoor scents, shaped like the concrete roadblocks that pepper ever-changing urban landscapes. From “Antidote for an Obsessive Heart” to “Antidote for Anticipation and Change,” his work blends natural pigments, dried herbs, and rituals of healing. Ingredients sourced from local herbalists provide more than practical components; they carry the scents of change; evaporating, spreading, and being consumed over time. This fleeting nature of scent opens up a space for conversation about progress, transformation, and their inherent contradictions.