Pheromone Pâtisserie

2024

Pheromone Extraction Mesh: 4'' x 4.8'' x 0.8''
Sweat Collection Device: 6.3'' x 3.2'' x 2.4''
Tracking Condenser Tube: 8'' x 1.2'' x 1.2''
Scent Diffuser Chalice: 7.1'' x 2.4'' x 3.2''

Cruciform Cavity Vessel: 9'' x 3.5'' x 1.2''

borosilicate glass

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This project imagines the vessels used in a “Love Manufacturing Factory.” The facility operates as a specialized laboratory dedicated to extracting and analyzing key chemical signals released by the human body, providing solutions for emotional needs related to affection, social interactions, and desire. Based on user demands, the lab extracts, analyzes, and adjusts the body’s chemical signals.

The pheromone extraction mesh is designed to collect pheromones from human sweat. The sweat collection device extracts and stores sweat samples. The tracking condenser tube condenses and tracks volatile chemical compounds. The scent diffuser chalice is used to disperse customized fragrances. The cruciform cavity Vessel processes and stores complex chemical reactions.

The base of these devices is equipped with a low-temperature heating mechanism, enabling slight evaporation or separation of pheromonal components from the sweat. Along the edges of the vessels are precise molecular sensors capable of detecting and analyzing molecular structures. These sensors are directly connected to a computer, providing real-time molecular formula displays of pheromones. By inputting specific molecular combinations, the laboratory generates artificial attraction, allowing participants to quickly fall in love, thus reshaping how humans understand and experience the chemical mechanisms of love.

They told me that ‘love’ could be extracted, distilled, recreated. I couldn’t help but laugh. Hah, love, that simple?

The experiment began. I lay back in the transparent chair, feeling the fine needles pierce my skin. Sweat was slowly drawn out, like my past being peeled away, layer by layer. All the traces of love and hate I’d ever known rising up with the molecules, evaporating into the silence of the lab. Strangely, I felt a twinge of reluctance, like I was letting something go.

They turned my pheromones into a scent. The technician said it was my unique love code, designed to spark emotional resonance in whoever I targeted. I gave a polite laugh, brushing past someone. His brow furrowed, nostrils flaring ever so slightly, as if something in that scent had flipped a switch in his brain. He stepped closer, eyes lighting up with a passion I couldn’t quite name. Inside, I smirked. So this is love—mechanical, manufactured?

But as he came nearer, my body betrayed me. I felt a tremor, my heartbeat quickening more than I’d expected. I told myself it was just the experiment. And yet… for a moment, the emotions felt real. What kind of pheromone does that? It’s just a chemical trick, I tried to remind myself.

We laughed and talked in the dim bar, every word feeling laden with significance. But deep down, I knew it was all chemistry. Still, I couldn’t shake the sense that something I’d lost, something like love, was beginning to stitch itself back together.

Then, suddenly, a phone call cut through the buzz of conversation. On the other end was a technician from the lab, his voice hurried.

“Miss, I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s been a complication. During your extraction, we noticed some anomalies in the pheromone data. It might trigger a reverse effect—attraction could quickly turn into repulsion. We recommend ending the date immediately to avoid any emotional backlash.”

I hung up, looking up at him…