Mycelium Studies

Ongoing research on co-creation with mycelium. The root networks of fungi, called mycelium, tend to grow in all directions in search of nutrients, information, and new encounters. How can we influence these movements, and what visual language should be established to enable a collaborative artistic piece with mycelium? To guide and be guided.

A large part of the beginning of this research involves setting up the appropriate tools. For these initial steps, I developed a network in TouchDesigner software that allows me to generate 3D shapes from 2D patterns, ready for 3D printing. These 3D prints are then placed in the bottom of a Petri dish, ready to receive the mycelium.

The mycelium can be rhizopus (tempeh) for rapid growth and prototyping, or reishi for longer growth and deeper development. For the latter, Maud Bausier assisted me with the inoculation, in order to properly prepare the environment and ensure that any contamination remained in the final pieces. The Domingo Club open-source fermenter then maintained an ideal temperature of 23.5°C for more than three weeks.