Description
The process of silk production, known as sericulture, involves several stages from the cultivation of silkworms to the extraction of silk fibers It is also a result of genetic selection in silkworms (Bombyx mori), a fascinating process that involves selecting and breeding silkworms with desirable traits to improve silk production and other economically valuable characteristics for thousands years.
The painting is an allegory of the metamorphisis stage, called Pupa (Cocoon Stage): The fully grown silkworm spins a continuous silk thread cocoon around itself, and transforms inside into the motionless pupa. The pupa finally emerges as the adult Bombyx mori moth,
The metamorphosis from silkworm (larva) to Bombyx moth (adult) is an amazing transformation where the organism’s DNA remains identical. The change in appearance and function is due to differential gene expression: hormones signal the cells to turn specific genes on (like those for wings) and turn others off (like those for eating), effectively reading a different section of the same genetic blueprint.
Ornaments in the painting are drawn from Vietnamese porcelain found in the shipwreck sunk along the Maritime Silk Road.
