Fungus

The Fungus Paper Research Project is an ongoing material collaboration that upholds the agency and autonomy of fungi in creative encounter with humans. Born from Charli Rose Gerry’s curiosity for mushroom foraging, the artist embraces a de-centred approach to paper-making with locally foraged mushrooms. In doing so, The Fungus Paper Research Project focuses on cultivating relations of curiosity and wonder in vibrant fungal worlds.

Emerging artist and writer Charli Rose Gerry uses mushroom foraging as an embodied research strategy that provides a more grounded approach to her perceptions of place. Focusing on fungi helps the artist form an understanding of different environments by tracing their symbiotic relationships with other organisms such as trees, plants and soils, and the climates and seasons in which certain fungi thrive within. The slow tempo that foraging encourages enables human bodies to coordinate with the interchanging intensities and movements within more-than-human ecologies.

As a practice of gathering, mushroom foraging exposes humans to the grand assortment of textures, forms and palettes that fungal fruiting bodies can embody. From wood-rotting polypores to puffballs to fleshy mushrooms, the vast material and aesthetic range that fungi manifest propose exciting capacities for artistic experimentation.

Inspired by the foundational work Miriam Rice pioneered in the arts of mushroom dying and paper-making in the 1970’s, Gerry’s research led to discovering that certain fungi are comprised with the biopolymer compound, chitin. This natural fibre is a brilliant binding agent for paper-making, akin to the composition of cellulose-based papers.

Guided by foraging practices, The Fungus Paper Research Project aims to be an amalgamation of art and embodied research, where a variety of mushroom species will be categorised, collected, documented and developed into papers. Every paper will be accompanied by information specific to a species’ of fungus, including habitat and environmental conditions, ethical foraging processes and suggestions for paper-making processes and artistic interpretation. The Fungus Paper Research Project illustrates a merging of knowledges, drawing from branches of mycology, science and arts-based research to inspire further engagement between communities and their local environment. Through foraging, creatives will gain a better understanding of the rhythms and patterns of their surrounding landscapes, whilst also creating paper from gathered fungus and domestic or studio waste materials that can easily be recycled or composted in a reciprocal practice of care.

By collating the aesthetic results of fungal properties in paper-form, the Fungus Paper Research project promotes a pedagogical and low-tech alternative to producing and recycling paper-based matter. The goal is to imagine reciprocal relationships to fungi and the environment through embodied creative practice. Re-defining not only methods of paper production, but the processes in which information and relationships to such materials are obtained. Paper-making with fungi offers a circular and sustainable alternative to artistic experimentation. This exploration fosters a more-than-human collaborative approach to paper-based materials, focusing on sustainable processes and effects. Fungus papers embody the origins and trajectories of place, shaped by entangled agencies that extend beyond the human. Overall, the conceptual source and local-impact of the Fungus Paper Research Project aims to spark conversation around the future of paper-based materials, and ignite curiosity around mushroom foraging as an arts-based research method.

Making process

Materials:
Blender/Blender Stick
Paper making deckle and mould
Water
Container, tub or basin
Foraged fungus
Recycled papers/household waste
Sponge
Old cloths / paper towel (for mess)
Gloves (optional)


Method:
If your foraged mushrooms are extra tough (conk/polypore species), soak in water for a few hours or overnight.
Chop mushrooms if necessary (recommended for conk/polypores).
Pulp the fugal bodies with a blender in water. Blend to your preferred consistency ~ you can keep remnants of the mushrooms whole, so their forms appear in the final pieces. The less chunks = the finer the paper. Here you can also blend any other recycled materials you wish to include - just add water and blend.
Pour the pulp into a shallow tray and add more water. Remember to add the mushroom pulp first - the more water you add, the more dispersed the fibres will be, and also the thinner your paper. Experiment to find your preferred density.
Sandwich your deckle and mould together and dip into your pulpy potion. Angle the mould so you can scoop up the pulp, then level it to create a consistent sheet-like form. Consider the thickness of your paper here. Moving the screen side to side in the water helps spread out the fibres evenly. Use your hands to move the pulp too!
Once happy with the evenness of your paper, rest the deckle and mould on the edge of your tub, allowing excess water to drain.
Go to your drying surface (piece of plywood, perspex or glass) and remove the deckle (frame) so your sheet of paper is revealed. In one swift motion, press your mould (mesh side) onto the drying surface - pressing firmly on the edges to ensure your paper transfers over to the new surface - and then quickly remove it.
Sponge up any excess water around your paper and leave to dry in a hot, airy environment. Papers will dry within 24-48 hours.

Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.