6 Locations

Mycelium Sculptures

This collection, titled 6 Locations, explores both the functional qualities and aesthetic potential of mycelium, the root structure of fungi. Mycelium consists of thread-like filaments called hyphae, which digest the surrounding substrate as nutrients. In doing so, the hyphae grow into a dense network to form the resulting material shown here. Mycelium is emerging as a sustainable solution to our climate crisis; we can harness its natural properties to create materials for construction, textiles and more. The project is conceptually based on 6 places significant to me and my family: Devon, Surrey, Dorset, Bolton, Leicestershire and Bolivia. Each sculpture references a location, visually and compositionally. My late Grandpa, a geologist, collected hundreds of film slides, having relentlessly photographed rock formations and geological features encountered on geology field trips and family holidays. His love of his subject and rigorous documentation through a camera lens drew me to think of how family ties you to a specific location. While each place differs socially, ecologically and geologically, the material and concept are naturally intertwined. My project ties together the separate locations as one unified body of artefacts, reflecting the way in which they are connected by the mycelium that permeates them. This has resulted in sculptural vessels which highlight the beauty, and compositional versatility, that mycelium can possess.