Reciprocity
In this exhibition, Hypha Co-Lab showcases different types of myco-fabrication processes and applications. Professional designers, architects and students’ objects are presented, spanning from acoustic panels, urns, seatings, vases, shoes, tableware, clothing, amongst others.
Working with mycelium – the filamentous network of fungi – forces us to embark on a cross-disciplinary space, intertwining design, biology, and to some extent, agriculture.
From a design perspective, mycelium offers interesting properties: light weight, fire resistant, floating, noise insulating, and biodegradable. Mycelium is also a living material and requires some understanding of biology. Even though some fungi species are commonly used to make mycelium materials, our knowledge is still limited. There are 6 times more species of fungi than of plants, and only 6 to 8 percent of them have even been described. There are likely many more species suitable for material fabrication that we are yet to discover.
In all of these projects, the notion of reciprocity has been explored, inspired by the symbiotic relationship of certain fungi species with their environment to find food and function in a system with mutual benefits for each element.
What if fungi could teach us to have a more mindful approach to biodesign, to see nature as less of a resource, but more as a model – a reprogrammable system, or even as a partner?
I denne udstilling præsenterer Hypha Co-Lab objekter og anvendelsesmuligheder med udgangspunkt i mycelium. Værkerne er skabt af professionelle designere, arkitekter og studerende og spænder mellem akustiske paneler, urner, siddemøbler, vaser, sko, service og tøj mm.
At arbejde med mycelium – det forgrenende netværk af svampe – tvinger os til at bevæge os ind i et tværfagligt rum, hvor design, biologi og agrikultur mødes.
Fra et designperspektiv tilbyder mycelium interessante egenskaber: let, brandbestandigt, flydeevne, støjisolerende og komposterbart. Mycelium er også et levende materiale og kræver en vis forståelse af biologi. Selvom nogle svampearter almindeligvis bruges i arbejdet med mycelium materialer, er vores viden stadig begrænset. Der er seks gange flere arter af svampe end planter, og kun seks til otte procent af dem er endda blevet beskrevet. Der er sandsynligvis mange flere arter, der er egnet til materialefremstilling, som vi endnu ikke har opdaget.
I alle disse projekter er begrebet gensidighed blevet udforsket, inspireret af det symbiotiske forhold mellem visse svampearter og deres omgivelser for at finde næring og fungere i et system med gensidige fordele for hinanden.
Hvad nu hvis svampe kunne lære os at have en mere opmærksom tilgang til design, at se naturen mindre som en ressource, men mere som et forbillede – et programmerbart system eller endda som en partner?
