Artist talk 5-6, reception 6-7pm.

On display at the St. Michael’s College McCArthy Art Gallery from Nov. 7- December 6.

“In Oscillation intends on visually materializing the mycorrhizal network, looking closer to how we could find inspiration from intelligent systems in nature, in order to alleviate the context of power dynamics in our contemporary communication systems. Mycorrhizae are constituted of mycelium (fungi filaments), who come into contact with roots of more that 90% of plants, in order to exchange information and resources. For reproduction purposes, they will occasionally develop fruiting bodies above the ground, mushrooms.

The title references both the movement of the mycelium (forming the mycorrhizae) expanding in the soil to connect with plants’ roots, and the succession of charge and discharge currents going through an electrical circuit. Non-programmable electronic circuits are used in the installation, some based on Forest Mim’s Engineer’s notebooks circuits from the 80s, in order to mimic the biochemical signals transmitted by the mycorrhiza network. Visitors are invited to hold between their fingers the pressure sensitive sensors to turn on the fungi lighting circuit, that then activate the sound circuits containing light sensitive sensors. The molded resin mushrooms sculptures were made in 2018 from a variety of mycorrhizal fungi at the Bamfield Marine Science Centre (BC, Canada)”