Fungi as Muse: Devon Exhibition Blends Art and Mycology
Contemporary art show explores fungal electricity, mycobiome mapping, and Beatrix Potter's legacy.
1Fungal electricity as music
Musician Jason Singh created soundscapes by translating electrical emissions from mycelium networks in Devon woodlands using biofeedback sensors. His installation 'The Intelligence Below' captures real-time voltage fluctuations as musical notes, revealing fungi's hidden vibrational language. This marks one of the first attempts to sonify fungal electrical activity for artistic purposes, with recordings made in Fingle and Yarner woods.
2Victorian collections meet modern art
RAMM's exhibition juxtaposes its historic fungal specimens (including stinkhorn and bird's nest varieties) with contemporary installations. The museum's Victorian-era collections provide scientific context for modern interpretations, like Jo Pearl's 'In Balance' sculpture honoring the recently discovered Potteromyces asteroxylicola fungus named after Beatrix Potter. This blending of eras highlights fungi's enduring cultural significance.
3Mycobiome mapping breakthrough
Artist Gemma Anderson-Tempini collaborated with University of Exeter mycologists to create the first artistic representation of human mycobiome - the fungal ecosystems within our bodies. Her piece 'Myco-Mother' uses pigments from Devon's red sandstone and chocolate-brown soil, materials chosen to physically connect the artwork to its scientific inspiration. This work shifts focus from external fungal environments to internal human-fungal relationships.
4Beatrix Potter's scientific legacy
The exhibition showcases Potter's overlooked mycological watercolors, loaned by the V&A Museum. While famous for children's tales, Potter was a skilled mycologist whose 19th-century fungal studies predated modern understanding. The inclusion of her work alongside contemporary pieces like Pearl's Potteromyces sculpture creates dialogue between historical and current fungal research methodologies.
5Five-year curatorial process
Head curator Lara Goodband developed the exhibition over half a decade, capitalizing on Devon's ideal fungal-growing conditions and local mycological enthusiasm. The region attracts diverse fungal interests - from soil ecologists to psychedelic mushroom enthusiasts. RAMM's location in southwest England provides both ideal natural conditions and community engagement opportunities for such specialized programming.
6Materials with meaning
Anderson-Tempini's process involved physically gathering Devon's geological materials to create her mycobiome map pigments. The red sandstone from Exmouth and Killerton soil weren't just artistic media but conceptual elements representing the connection between human bodies and their environments. This material choice blurs boundaries between art, science, and local ecology in the exhibition.
7Cultural timing of fungal fascination
Goodband attributes rising fungal interest partly to Merlin Sheldrake's bestselling 'Entangled Life', which positioned fungi as key to understanding planetary systems. The exhibition arrives during peak cultural awareness of fungal networks' ecological importance. This timing allows the art to engage audiences already primed to appreciate fungi's scientific and cultural dimensions.
8Expanding fungal narratives
The exhibition moves beyond traditional fungal representations by incorporating multiple disciplines - from electronic music to medical mycology. By featuring works that sonify electrical activity, map internal ecosystems, and reinterpret historical collections, it demonstrates fungi's expanding role in contemporary art and science discourse. This multidisciplinary approach creates new frameworks for understanding fungal significance.
Original article: Science | The Guardian — Fungi as Muse: Devon Exhibition Blends Art and Mycology