Situated at the intersection of art, science and technology, FUNGI explores the global underground ecosystem of mycorrhizal FUNGI by creating a metaphorical digital twin of the biological network, often referred to as the “Wood Wide Web”. The installation merges arbuscular mycorrhizal data sonification, 3D-printed ceramic sculptures and fungal knowledge to engage the audience in an artistic exploration of fungal communities and their symbiotic relationships with vegetation, while advocating for their protection. At the core of the installation, a virtual map forms the foundation for a physical experience of this ecosystem.
The soundscape, inspired by the polyphonic chant “Song For Gathering Mushrooms” sung by the women of the Aka people (an indigenous community, residing primarily in the Congo Basin of Central Africa), is reshaped by biogeographical data of the mycorrhizal network. Geotagged data points describing fungal ecosystems within the Maajaam landscape (in the South of Estonia) and globally, are mapped to sound parameters via an artificial neural network. The sound evolves as the network grows through a process of machine learning.
The FUNGI ORACLE, an AI trained on scientific literature from the mycorrhizal dataset and fine-tuned with quotes from renowned books like “Let’s Become Fungal”, “Entangled Life” and “Ways of Being”, synthesises textual teachings about the mycorrhizal ecosystem, illuminating how symbiotic ideologies and insights from the non-human world can inspire human society.
3D-printed ceramic sculptures, crafted using images of mycorrhizal FUNGI extracted from root samples gathered in 12 different locations around the Maajaam territory embody the mycorrhizal networks and serve as resonating chambers for the sonified data. The sculptures merge into an immersive installation, capturing the diversity of the mycorrhizal fungal world and displaying its ecological significance.
Programming software: Marco Accardi, Alessandro Inguglia and Gabriele Scalici (Anecoica Studio) – Design: Jonathan Wellmann – Text: Anna Anderegg and Sarah Möller – Technical design: Benjamin Maus and Alles Blinkt – Support mycorrhiza research: Spun Earth – Project supervision: Azael Holtz and Andy Fofana – Voice FUNGI Oracle: Malakoff Kowalski – AI & Machine Learning: Federico Visi, Neva Besker, Donatella Sforzini and Gabriele Fatigati – Ceramic 3D printing expertise: Daniel Valencia Ferrá (Digital Craft) – External consultancy: Rebecca Pedrazzi – Motion graphics consultancy: Silvano Imboden and Daniele De Luca – Mycorriza research: Maarja Öpik and Tanel Vahter – DNA extractions & histological root staining, microscopy: Atefe Farshadi – EcoBank data extraction: Martti Vasar – Development of arbuscular mycorriza fungal database EcoBank: Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences University of Tartu
FUNGI is an installation by Marco Barotti, in co-production with Wild Bits (Maajaam) in the context of European Capital of Culture 2024 and Twilight Festival, in collaboration with Cineca and Kilowatt (Bologna), supported by S+T+ARTS Project Grin, Audio Ag, RME, FUNFARM (Estonian Research Foundation grant n° 1789, Maarja Öpik, Tanel Vahter, Atefe Farshadi) and the Center of Excellence AgroCropFuture (Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, TK200U4, Tanel Vahter, Martti Vasar).
Thanks to WASP, Nicoletta Tranquillo, Kyle McDonald, Tobi Kiers, Nadia Soudzilovskaia, Nicole Hynson, Marcel Vanderheijden, Mattia Tuliozi, Silvia Girardello, Boris Acket, MariaChiara Liguori, Antonella Guidazzoli, Katharina Weikl, Saša Spačal, Lukas Esser and Misha Douglas MacLaren.
