Biomaterials
in collaboration with living materials
Mycelial Mat
Grow.bio kit (Oyster mushroom, hemp chips), fabric scraps, turmeric, goji berries
28 x 18 x 5 cm
2024
Gallatin Arts Festival
Mycelium, the roots of mushrooms, provide essential nutrients that allow others around them to thrive. Much of the earth is enmeshed with mycelium. Below our feet, in the soil, they support trees and plants, while also contributing to healthy and biodiverse ecosystems. So vital to the world around us, yet we rarely see or directly interact with them. I wondered what it would be like to feel and sense the ecological fabric within the soil.
I designed and created a mat to unearth mycelium to interact with them and form a deeper appreciation for the world beneath us. I was also inspired by weaving patterns and by sashimono, the Japanese technique of assembling wooden furniture without nails, to construct this mat.
A zine accompanies this piece to tell the fuller story behind the process. I have also explored this medium through collaborative community work which is also accompanied by a zine.