Cause Index

The Secret Love Project

We are all influenced by the things we see every day; our moods, actions and behaviours are affected by the visual world around us. Is it possible to positively influence the collective consciousness of an entire city through the ubiquitous placement of a commonly understood symbol? A symbol that signifies positive thought processes and is understood across cultural and linguistic barriers.

The heart shape has become an unambiguous symbol of love, globally. It signifies a feeling, represents a mode of perception, and is aligned with positive emotional content. If we notice this symbol everywhere we go in a city, will it influence our perception of the city itself and even change our mood slightly? And could this in turn influence our thought patterns and feelings and possibly influence our actions?

The project operates subliminally but at a conscious level it’s a giant collaboration with a feel-good factor for anyone and everyone who believes in the simple idea of sharing and spreading love. Sticking a heart to your car, or office window or post-box, or front door is simply saying “i like the idea of love in the world and I want to share it”! It amounts to a very small but beautiful act of being human.

Every heart sticker forms part of the artwork, and the artwork itself is a collective feeling, an emotional reaction that this particular shape elicits. If there is any doubt in the validity of the claim of the visual influence of symbols on our consciousness just imagine changing the hearts to swastikas or to the word “hate” and sticking those all over town. The Secret Love Project is an exercise in demonstrating the positive power of symbols (visual language) in human thought and behaviour

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