Symbolising both the strength and fragility of love, a red silk thread is frequently used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean mythologies to connect people who are destined to be together. Can design and biotechnology bring a new meaning to this “red thread of fate”?
Silk that glows and emits oxytocin, a social-bonding “love” hormone, is woven into intertwining fabrics by Japanese artists, then passed into the hands of a Hong Kong architectural design team to flutter and hang as a contemporary love shrine. Bathed in artificial moonlight, the shrine is a spiritual space where faiths, intentions, emotions and wishes intertwine. Visitors are invited to contemplate love and bonding in a time of social distancing, and how biotechnology is bringing ancient mythologies into the future.