Rebecca East UWE Illustration

  Rebecca East Process and Practice  Evaluative Statement Throughout this project looking at the theme of ‘Poetic Science’ I wanted to explore the intricacies of mushrooms and mycelium, finding ways to illustrate the complex ecology of these species, while also looking into more fictional mediums like fantasy and fairytales, where fungi imagery is often used. In my initial research I started reading ‘Entangled Life’ by Merlin Sheldrake, which expanded my knowledge of not just how many species of fungi there are but also in how they shape the world around us in many different ways; this made me realise that I would need to narrow my focus away from fungi as a whole, as the topic is far too expansive to cover in a single project. I took inspiration from some places I visited on a trip to Berlin last year, where scientists and artists have looked at specific use cases for certain fungal species and decided that focusing on individual species and looking at them in more detail would

 When I first started researching fungi and looking into different species of mushrooms, the first species that interested me and gave me some inspiration for potential work was the Shaggy Mane Ink Cap. These mushrooms not only look quite interesting with their feathered-looking caps but also act in a really peculiar way; they naturally produce a black ink-like substance as they decay, and they decay pretty quickly.  Naturally, when I learned of this fact, I was absolutely enamoured by the idea of making my mushroom-based project and drawing all of these mushroom sketches using entirely mushroom ink. After some research I found that Shaggy Mane ink is not an easy nor cheap thing to source, however shaggy mane spores to grow your own mushrooms are much easier to come by, even if it meant buying them from a dodgy website that seemingly hadn't been updated since 2015. So I bought my spores from that dodgy website and a grow bag kit on Etsy and thought "how hard can it be?".

 During a trip to Berlin last summer, I visited the Futurium Museum, and one exhibition called The Outside Inside by Johanna Schmeer particularly held my attention. This exhibition looks at the idea of biology and technology becoming increasingly intertwined, and the potential issues and possibilities of blurring these lines even further.  The main part of the installation is a futuristic garden wherein plants and fungi are encased in terrariums. The specific plantlife and fungi in the terrariums were chosen for their different terraforming abilities. Some of the domes contain Amaranth, " which can grow and sequester carbon dioxide in saline and dry conditions, removing a small amount of salt from the ground in the process" others contain oyster mushrooms " which have the ability to remove heavy metals and other contaminants from their environment, preparing it for other species." (quotes taken from the  Futurium website ) The part of the installation that I found m

 During a trip to Berlin last summer, I was fortunate enough to visit The Transdisciplinary Project Space or 'TopLab'; a facility in the city centre which works as a collaborative working space between artists and scientists. Here they work together to creative inventive solutions to modern day issues, particularly around sustainability.  When I visited, the majority of their work was currently revolving around the use of fungi as a material for production and construction. They showed us how fungi can be grown in moulds to make things like packing material for shipping and even bricks and panels for insulation in buildings.  We were toured around the lab and project space, a space that perfectly exemplified the idea of 'poetic science' as art materials and lab equipment lined the shelves and concept design sketches drawn up by the resident artists covered the walls. We were also shown the growing space in the basement; a cool dark room where large grow-bags filled with

 I'm interested at looking into the use of fungi and mushroom imagery throughout folklore and fairytales. I want to see if there's any room for crossover with the more scientific based research I've done. Mushrooms make a lot of appearances in fairytale imagery and historically they've had lots of different meanings and significance to different cultures, exploring these ideas could lend me some new inspirations for my own work. I think a good example of these potential for this crossover of science and folklore comes from Fairy Circles; the name given to a perfect circle of mushrooms that grows commonly in forests during the summertime. In British folklore these circles were the spots where fairies would dance after a rainstorm, and people were warned not to enter them as humans would fall into a hundred year sleep if they did.  Scientifically speaking, we now know that these circles form due to the pattern of growth of the mycelium below the surface. The fairy circle

Research: Fungi in Folklore TopLab Futurium Museum Trying and Failing to Grow My Own Mushrooms Evaluative Statement