Experimenting with GrowLay filament made for growing Mycelium, moulds, bacteria, plants onto/into 3D printed sculptures! GrowLay filaments were generously donated by creator Kai Parthay.

3D printed scaffolding holds/contains the mycelium (spores) as it grows and is broken down (consumed) while keeping its form.

Installation at Bjarmanes, Skagaströnd Iceland June 2018.

Installation view at Bjarmanes, Skagaströnd Iceland

Visitors were invited to sit with the Mycelium: Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi) and listen. In Chinese, the name lingzhi represents a combination of spiritual potency and essence of immortality and is regarded as the “herb of spiritual potency,” symbolizing success, well-being, divine power, and longevity. The mycelium was grown over the month of June and sculpted into an anatomical heart form (shown on plate) while the primary mass of mycelium was kept alive and free of contaminants (shown in filtered grow bag). The map of Iceland was marked showing where I had gathered field recordings and translated moss, lichen and fungi bio-data. The Lingzhi had electrodes placed onto it and bio-data collected, which was translated in realtime to MIDI playing through the AniMoog synthesizer. Depending on the number of people in the space, or visitors touching the mycelium grow bag they could ‘hear’ the mycelium react to their presence.

I would like to thank the Canada Arts Council for their generous support towards my research in renewable, bio-sculpting materials.
“Enriching the lives of Canadians by supporting a vital and diverse arts sector”
• We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.
• Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.