MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

On Mycohuman Performances: Fungi in Current Artistic Research

Summary

This research explores how artists are working with fungi to create new forms of interactive art that challenge our understanding of the relationship between humans and fungi. The work demonstrates how deeply interconnected humans are with fungi and other organisms in our environment. Impacts on everyday life: • Reveals how fungi and humans can interact and communicate in novel ways through art and technology • Demonstrates the importance of fungi in human health and as part of our bodily ecosystem • Helps people understand and appreciate fungi as collaborative partners rather than just resources • Shows how art can make complex scientific concepts accessible to the public • Highlights the potential of cross-disciplinary collaboration between artists and scientists

Background

In recent years, fungi have gained increasing international attention in artistic research, particularly in Bio Art, Science Art and Post Media Art under the broader domain of Hybrid Arts. Fungi, especially mycelia, have become vital agents in artistic experiments, installation projects, and ongoing art interventions. Artists are adopting unconventional practices in process-oriented projects, often exploring new formats and themes through multidisciplinary approaches. They frequently work collaboratively with scientists and in science labs themselves, representing a new artistic paradigm focused on direct exploration of organic matter rather than traditional artistic representation.

Objective

This review examines the work of three artists – Saša Spačal, Tarsh Bates and Theresa Schubert – and their artistic research using fungi as both subject matter and medium. The study analyzes how these artists move beyond traditional representational art to create performative, multidisciplinary and research-based works using fungal material directly.

Results

The study revealed three distinct approaches to fungal-human artistic collaboration: Spačal creates interactive situations of symbiosis between fungi and humans through biofeedback loops; Bates explores the relationship between humans and Candida yeasts as equal partners in what she terms ‘CandidaHomo Ecologies’; and Schubert treats fungi as collaborators and co-creators through installations and site-specific interventions that examine fungal morphology and forest ecosystems.

Conclusion

As biology challenges traditional notions of what is human, art practices engaging with life sciences have developed new forms that are performative, interactive and multi-disciplinary. Living organisms have become a medium for experimental art that actively engages with science while seeking to bridge human and nonhuman domains. These artists demonstrate how humans are intimately interconnected with the world around us at microbial and metabolic levels.
  • Published in:Fungal Biology and Biotechnology,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: 10.1186/s40694-019-0085-6
Scroll to Top