By exploring the intersection of art, science, and design, the Nobel Prize Museum's exhibition "Fungi—In Art and Science" unveils the hidden beauty and complexity of fungi, showing the potential of cross-disciplinary collaborations.
From September 2023 to January 2024, the Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm presented an exhibition that blurred the boundaries between art and science. Titled "Fungi—In Art and Science," this show invited visitors to experience fungi through a range of perspectives: scientific, artistic, and philosophical. Curated by Karl-Johan Cottman, the exhibition explored how fungi, an often-overlooked kingdom, are capturing the imagination across disciplines. With contributions from scientist Vera Meyer and artist Phil Ross, the exhibit embodied the interconnectedness that fungi represent.
The exhibition mirrors a growing global fascination with fungi’s potential in fields like biotechnology, sustainability, and art. The show represents a holistic approach to understanding nature, highlighting the importance of collaborative thinking to address modern challenges—from sustainable materials to bio-based innovations.
Curating the Mycelial Network
The exhibit was initially conceived as a small showcase, but as Cottman and his team dug deeper, they realized fungi's vast potential for storytelling. The curators drew connections between fungal research and artistic creation, embodying the rhizome—both a biological term and a philosophical metaphor for interconnectedness. The gallery featured samples of mycelium-based materials, CRISPR-modified yeast, and videos of fungal growth, aiming to reveal the complexity beneath the surface.
Cottman described the process as a "growing mycelium of fungi-involved people," expanding as the exhibition's scope broadened. By featuring diverse content—from biotech processes to fashion inspired by fungi—the team created a multi-layered experience that engaged audiences deeply.
A Bioreactor at the Heart of Innovation
Central to the exhibit was the installation "Fungal Transformer," created by Vera Meyer and Phil Ross. This bioreactor-based display showcased fungi's role in biotechnology, particularly their potential as "cell factories" to produce sustainable materials. For Meyer, fungi are key to addressing urgent environmental challenges. Her collaboration with Ross aimed to make the scientific process visible, breaking the boundary between the lab and the public space.
Meyer's work emphasizes the need for cross-disciplinary approaches, both in science and society, to fully harness the potential of fungi. She advocates for collaborative innovation, where scientists and artists work together to solve the critical issues of our time, such as transitioning to a bio-based economy.
Artistic Exploration Meets Scientific Discovery
Meyer's own artistic journey, particularly her work sculpting with fungal material, reflects the fluid relationship between art and science. She shared how working with fungi artistically deepened her scientific understanding, inspiring new research directions. Her experiments with tinder fungus led her to propose it as a key material in lab projects, an idea she might never have pursued without her creative engagement.
Ross, an artist turned entrepreneur, brings a unique perspective to the world of fungal science. His company, MycoWorks, produces mycelium-based leather alternatives, and his background in art allows him to approach fungi with an experimental mindset. For Ross, fungi are not just a source of material innovation but a portal into new realms of biological interaction. His contribution to the exhibition emphasized the symbiotic relationship between art and biotechnology.
Bridging Science and Society
The exhibition's success lies not only in its ability to attract a diverse audience but also in how it fostered a sense of revelation about fungi’s significance. As Cottman observed, many visitors left the show with a newfound curiosity about the fungal kingdom.
The exhibit's impact extended beyond the gallery space, inspiring visitors to reconsider fungi’s role in their daily lives and the natural world. Cottman noted that the show had a transformative effect on local attendance, drawing in more Stockholm residents than ever before—a testament to the universal appeal of fungi as a subject of cross-disciplinary exploration.