2020
45 seconds
Mycelium, cultivated lingzhi mushrooms and wood chips
I produced a time-lapse video of the four-month process whereby the spores slowly transformed from the white mycelium stage into fruiting bodies and eventually covered with the brown powder of the spores. In Chinese mythology, it is believed that all things have spirit and are capable of acquiring human forms, magical powers, and immortality when they absorb the nimbus of the universe and the prime of the sun and moon. When there is a lack of energy during the transformation, they may still keep some of their animal or plant traits. These busts can be seen as lingzhi in the process of acquiring the human form as the woodchips are bonded by mycelium to create a human form. However, the video shows the reverse process by presenting the mycelium sculpture of a human form transforming into a hybrid lingzhi and human form. This is a deeper view of the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature.