Futurium Museum

 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 most interesting was the audio aspect; the transferral of carbon dioxide, methane, and volatile organic compounds between the plants and fungi is tracked by sensors, this data is the collected and processed into binaural beats. The viewer can hear these low slightly melodic sounds by putting on the provided headphones; this allows us another layer of understanding into how mycelium, fungi and plant life 'communicate' in the wild.