Mycelial Meshing
2018, Interactive Installation (steel pipes, concrete, lighting, sensors, infrasound system), 4.8 x 5 x 6 meters (variable)
Work commissioned by and in the collection of UAE Unlimited which is an Abu Dhabi-based satellite platform founded by Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan
Exhibited for the first time in Ishara: Signs, Symbols, and Shared Languages; Concrete, Alserkal Avenue Arts District, Dubai, curated by Karim Sultan; senior curatorial advisor Laura Metzler
Statement
We are part of many interconnected networks—from friends and colleagues to the internet and the electrical grid. One action can ripple across these meshed networks changing whole ecosystems.
Of course, other species form networks as well. One of the more recent discoveries is the mycorrhiza network. This is a network of the mycelia of fungi that reach out and connect to the roots of plants of different species exchanging everything from information about invaders to food and water. Dying trees can pass on their nutrients to saplings, tomatoes can warn each other of aphids. Interestingly, fungi are not plants; their DNA is closer to animals than to plants. So, two groups, very far apart on the evolutionary tree, connect with each other in multitudes of ways.
Our human networks support or hinder our development in a variety of ways as well. Access to good education helps people find better jobs and better lives; clean drinking water is vital to health…
Using the materials of infrastructure—steel pipes, concrete, electrical cables—this work looks at these varied networks though the overlay of mycelial networks. Overall the work reacts to the audience, seemingly communicating about the visitor’s intrusion.
some images by Musthafa Aboobacker