No. 34
Smell the Rose Messages
By : kinacyan
Entrant’s location : 日本
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Description
バラは自身の香りでアポトーシスというプログラムされた細胞死を引き起こし、褐変する。この化学現象を利用し、バラの香り成分をバラの花びらに直接塗布することで、局所的に褐変させ、メッセージを書いた。香り成分には、アポトーシスを引き起こす要因であるゲラニオールを用いた。
What did you create?
The roses turn brown with their own scent, causing programmed cell death called apoptosis. Utilizing this phenomenon, a geraniol, which is the main cause of apoptosis, was applied directly to the petals of roses. Also, I used the unscented rose. By applying geraniol to an unscented rose, I tried to give a person who passed near the rose noticed by the scent and gave the viewer a “margin” .
Why did you make it?
In modern Japan, death from overwork called "karoshi" is a major social problem. Though the idea of eliminating death from overwork is spreading, with the development of communication equipment, people othen work on their commute. I thought that it would be possible to create a “margin” of people to watch by looking at the roadside flowers instead of the smartphone during the commuting time. By the way, the reason why roses undergo apoptosis is, according to one theory, to allow the nutrients to reach the seeds even after pollination. In recent years, scented roses do not last long, so unscented roses are widely available in markets. For rational roses raised by humans, the scent may no longer be “wasteful”. On the other hand, to put it the other way, “waste” can be regarded as “margin”. I tried to create a “margin” for the person by adding a lost scent to the unscented rose again, notifying the passing person and giving a message.
How did you make it?
Among rose scent components, geraniol component causes apoptosis. Therefore, I wrote the letters by applying geraniol directly to the rose petals. I used a commercially available fine brush. Put geraniol on the brush, write the letters directly on the petals of the rose, and after a few hours, the area where geraniol was applied will turn brown. Put the roses with the letters on them in a vase filled with water.
Your entry’s specification
The size is approximately 150mm wide x 150mm deep x 400mm high. In addition, the structure is a single rose in a vase, and water is contained up to about half the height of the vase.