CONCEPT NOTES *in progress*


A single life

Fungal portrait series on the monumentalisation of the unknown identity, the most true picture we can ever achieve of our fellow humans. Based on the blurry and anonymous profiles on dating applications.


Fruiting Body

In collaboration with Matthijs De Block.

A glowing disk of orange fungus, neurospora crassa, ominously stands out against a black background. The viewer is challenged to balance different elements of the work against each other. On the one hand, there’s the warm sun, worshipped in many cultures for both creative and destructive qualities. On the other hand, molds are -rightly or wrongly- associated with danger.
The rising of the sun immediately implies its eventual demise, an infinite cycle of rise and fall. A circularity that returns in the fermentation of dead material by microorganisms. Their civilization flourishes where the previous one perished.

Breaking down this phenomenon into its essential components is exemplary of the scientific method, but the work can as easily be approached instinctively. Neither approach is superior to the other; the real truth can only be found in the judgment of the viewer.


Control

In collaboration with Matthijs De Block.

For the rich plant diversity of the greenhouse, mycorrhizal fungi in the soil are essential. Despite their indispensable role, they are invisible to any visitor. This artwork creates an opportunity for the fungus to grow visibly while a curtain of UV light closes in on the microorganism.
A controlled microenvironment is one of the foundations of the scientific process. It creates a manipulated model of reality that hopes to answer a scientific question.

Total control, however, is only a charade. Mold spores can survive the UV curtain, and the imposed, evolutionary pressure favors cells that are UV-resistant. It is only a matter of time before the organism escapes from its prison.