mycocene
Kinetic and audio sculpture, physarum (slime mold), e-waste, contact microphones, Arduino. 2019.
Mycocene is an art installation speculating on alternative views to the Anthropocene. The Mycocene hypothesizes a framework where mycelium is the most prominent force of change on the planet's surface. This framework suggests a reality where our current use of technology is composted into one that has symbiosis in mind. Symbiosis within the Mycocene blurs the line between conventional technology and nature and explores uses of technology that do not attempt to save nor exploit our ecosystems, but augment and communicate with them.
How does mycology tie into such a future? “Mycelia is a highly redundant, complexley branched, self-repairing, and scalable communications network linking many species over tremendous distances.” (Paul Stamets) Mycelium is the communication highway between species, it is an integral link within ecosystems, functioning much like an internet of nutrients (much of which it creates through compost) and signals. In the spirit of this metaphor, the Mycocene project repurposes electronic waste to be in symbiosis with this highly advanced natural system of mycelium–foregrounding the immense intelligence that nature exhibits which, as a species, we (humans) choose to ignore.
Mycocene is an interpretation of a future where humans play a positive role in the Earth’s complex system of self-regulation, feedback, and evolution. It symbolizes a social and ecological revolution to save our planet and those living on it. Technology is part of our collective identity, we do not have to stop using technology as a species to help the Earth survive. Instead, we need to change how we create and view our technology to benefit all species on a global level.
A somme project with Matt Halpenny, Matt Salaciak, Emma Forgues and Owen Coolidge.
Eco(Systems) of Hope at Anteism Books, Montreal, QC, CAN
Elektra XX (solo exhibit) at OBORO, Montreal, QC, CAN
MIAN – International Marketplace for Digital Art at Centre Phi, Montreal, QC, CAN
Elektra XX (solo exhibit) at OBORO, Montreal, QC, CAN
MIAN – International Marketplace for Digital Art at Centre Phi, Montreal, QC, CAN
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