Wong Kar Wai x Noritaka Tatehana

A collection of unique perfume bottles inspired by the film "In The Mood For Love".

• This piece 9-RED is from unique multiples of 20.
• Mixed media, including Japanese lacquer, nashiji makie, silver powder, cherry wood and glass bottle.
• This work comes with a refill packaged in a Paulownia box.
• A multidisciplinary collaboration between Wong Kar Wai and Noritaka Tatehana, with special thanks to Alberto Morillas, Firmenich & Aromasong, Nora Ladghem and Tetsuo Fukaya.
• Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Jet Tone Archive and signed by Wong Kar Wai.

If I were to describe IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE as a scent, what would it be? My take is that it would be the smell that flooded the senses of Chow Mo-Wan when he buried his secret in the stone walls of Angkor Wat; fresh grass in the morning, damp earth on the walls, sweat in the creases of his short-sleeved shirt, all combined with an aroma deeply ingrained in his memory - the intoxicating scent that trickled from the neckline of Su Li-Zhen’s qipao. The scent of Su Li-Zhen has always eluded me, but if I had to imagine it from my own memories, it would be the scent that my wife used to wear when she was seventeen.

To mark the 20th anniversary of IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, we were not content to simply look back. Rather, we wish to take a step forward and offer more possibilities for the audience to appreciate the film. Over the past three years, we have worked with a group of artists in search of a scent. Our intention is to design a three-dimensional experience, through which our audience can relive the sensations that Chow Mo-Wan perceived that morning in Angkor Wat - the grass, the stone walls, and the scent of Su Li-Zhen, trickling from the neckline of her qipao.

We have immensely cherished this multidisciplinary collaboration, and must first express our gratitude to Mr. Alberto Morillas for his attention to detail in recreating the scent of Su Li-Zhen. We would also like to thank Mr. Noritaka Tatehana for his elegant design of the body of this work. Combining traditional Japanese craftsmanship with the textures of lacquer, and pure gold powder, Mr. Tatehana has beautifully expressed the textures of grass, stonewalls and the qipao. Finally, I must thank my wife, Esther, for creating the first memories that have inspired and guided this project.

— Wong Kar Wai