Skip to main content

Mushroom - Research & Intention


Looking back on the images i took while walking i found that i was often taken pictures of mushrooms. This is obviously down to the time of year i did these walks but it also shows that its something that is interesting me. What interests me most is the variety of mushrooms, there is a multitude of different species and each one is unique. Looking back on the photographs i can see that a lot of the images concentrate on the gills of the mushroom, visually the texture of the gills is very appealing to me.


Below are the possible ways of looking in to mushrooms -

  • Recreating poisonous mushrooms using edible materials
  • mushrooms with hallucinogenic properties
  • the mushrooms form such as its gills
  • mushrooms used for medicines
  • foraging 
  • mushrooms used in tribal rituals
  • mushrooms in history - Egyptians believed they were the plant of immortality
  • mushrooms are more similar to humans than plants in relation to their cells




One image that really intrigued me is the ink cap (Possibly the shaggy ink cap) mushroom pictured above. When i first came across this mushroom my initial thought was that something had been  poured on it. However after some research i found that this mushroom once full grown it 'erodes' upwards and turns to this black ink above. It can take 3 days from it only being a small mushroom to it being fully grown and turning to black ink. This plant is edible but poisonous if eaten when consuming alcohol. 

This has lead me on to investigate if it is possible  to recreate this process making a solid mushroom like sculpture that will in a sense melt to reveal the black inky liquid. My initial thought was to use something edible like black treacle and maybe add some kind of alcohol linking to the edible becoming poisonous however i'm unsure as to how i would solidify this into a hard sculpture to then melt. This could possibly be done through freezing but i will have to do some trial tests. After speaking with a tutor and some technicians they suggested i looked at bitumen. I began researching places in Norwich that sold bitumen in small quantities, from this i found out that there are two types of bitumen hard and soft. Selecting hard bitumen could possibly allow me to cast a mushroom shape or even sculpt by hand- this will be establish with safety data sheet and actually seeing the bitumen itself. 

Safety data sheet in research file and Idea in sketch book.


Research used - 

  • https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/coprinopsis-atramentaria.php
  • https://www.wildfooduk.com/mushroom-guide/common-inkcap/
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9uVN3gYgzc
  • https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/coprinus-comatus.php
  • https://www.mushroomdiary.co.uk/2010/10/shaggy-ink-cap/





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teach First Application - LO6 - Evidence

Evidence in LO6 Folder Application Process Sections to the application: ·          Registration ·          Pre-university academics ·          University academics ·          Competency questions ·          Situational judgement test ·          Supporting information ·          Programme preferences Registration Within the registration process I uploaded my basic information allowing them to contact me with possible job opportunities. This information was things such as name, address and contact details. Pre-University academics ·          A Level, As Level & UK equivalent ·         ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abramovic Case Study - Research & Evaluation

Performance artist Marina Abramovic adopts a territory where both audience and artist coincide throughout the entirety of her performance. Abramovic’s early career commenced during the 1970’s an era where performance art was ridiculed, only fuelling her aspirations to prove critics wrong. Abramovic’s rhythm series, which constitutes of five individual performances from 1973 to 1974, scrutinizes the tensions between abandonment and control. At the forefront of Abramovic’s rhythm series is Rhythm 10 (Abramovic, M. 1973). Rhythm 10 consisted of Abramovic recording herself stabbing between the fingers of her left hand with 10 knives, as fast as she could; changing knives every time she cut herself. When all knives were used Abramovic would rewind the tape and playing it back, she then began re-performing the actions to the rhythm of the tape. Abramovic wilfully or not, subjected her performance to a rhythm over which she had limited control. Abramovic claims each cut manifesting itse...
Post a Comment
Read more

Professional Photography (Outcomes) - Documentation & Evaluation

The bellow images are the outcome from the professional shoot i did with a photographer. These images have now allowed me to have material for my Instagram, website, promotional material such as business cards or postcards and images for my documentation book. We also photographed my ginkgo leaves that i produced last unit this was a request from the student who i was collaborating with that designed my documentation book - they required ginkgo leaves with  a plain white background. I'm most pleased with the images of my submission for the bishops art prize the contrasting monochrome works so well together which wasn't something i had trailed until the day of the shoot. 
Post a Comment
Read more