Why should we care about that which we cannot see?
2021
Text, riso prints, kefir, colored tape, a series of visits and workshops with a 5th grade class in close collaboration with their primary teacher over five months
P1 at Tistedal school (Halden) 2021
In 2021, I received an invitation to be an artist-in-residence at Tenthaus' mobile studio: P1. That year, the mobile studio, which consisted of two modified containers, was parked outside Tistedal school in Halden. I used my time at P1 to think through and develop another artwork: Reimagining the data center as mycelium.
Over the summer, I filled the windows of the containers with a series of statements about mushrooms and questions concerning that we can and cannot see. The existential questions had a hybrid appeal as they could apply equally specifically to mushrooms.
On the glass doors of the containers, I painted mushrooms with a biodegradable material: kefir. The texts themselves were riso-printed on A3 papers carefully and aesthetically taped together. However, the tape was only visible from inside P1. Both the tape and kefir were reapplied throughout the exhibition period.
Some mushrooms are beautiful
Some mushrooms are strange
Some mushrooms are edible
Some mushrooms are poisonous
Some mushrooms help each other
Some mushrooms help other living things too
Some mushrooms decompose
Some mushrooms are parasites
Much of the mushroom cannot be seen
Mushrooms live under the ground year round in a big network that is called mycelium
Mushrooms over ground disappear quickly
Why should we care about that which we cannot see?
How does that which is temporary and that which
is invisible affect us?
Can we teach ourselves to see what cannot be seen?
Being a resident of P1 also involves working with a class at the school where the studio is parked. Over some months, I developed a very good tone and collaboration with a 5th grade teacher.
During my visits, I showed them works in progress, we explored the forest directly adjacent to the school, drew mycelium with 3D pens, grew oyster mushrooms inside of the P1 modules, and both prepared and ate the mushrooms we grew.
My visits were about every six weeks over five months.
In addition to my visits, the teacher I worked with brought both mushrooms (hidden/unhidden worlds) and symbiosis into the classroom. They independently watched documentaries, started applying their new knowlege of mushrooms to other areas, and self-initiated both educational and creative projects related to mine.
Another sweet and unexpected outcome of this project came after my time as the artist-in-residence at P1 was finished. I was contacted directly by the school and invited back to receive a guided tour of an exhibition the students themselves had made!
Their exhibition was extensive and occupied the entire main entrance of the school. They had made an installation of a tree stump and the 3D-drawn mycelium, ceramic mushrooms, sound recordings of what they imagined mycelium to sound like, as well as a mind map showing off their extensive knowlege of mushrooms.
Documentation by Jessica Williams, Ida Uvaas (Tenthaus), and Tistedal school. Special thanks to Lejla Cirkic, Stefan Schröder, and the 5th grade class of 2021/2022.
