Mycelium

Mycelium Millennium

Mycelium Millennium imagines a new era in which biological resources, specifically fungi – mycelium, is used to grow a collection of objects for everyday domestic rituals, merging biofabrication and craft.

The project comes in an effort to demystify the transformation of an organism to a biomaterial and at the same time raise questions of aesthetics and cultural acceptance. The fungal mycelium material qualities – antibacterial, fire-resistant, heat-isolating and water-resistant – are incorporated into the function of each design.

The collection focuses on ritualistic objects amplifying not only the material properties but also emphasising the importance of rituals in the human experience. The objects adopt antique symbols, embedding them in a longer material history, as well as a scale and form that introduces the fungal material to the context of the home. While the collection attempts to stress longevity and resilience, it is integrated into a circular vision, where the material is sourced from nature and returns to nature.

Mycelium Millennium is an invitation to raise awareness for a material revolution, an opportunity to learn from nature and its potential, where products and objects could match the planet's needs.

Making process

Technique: Bio-fabrication (moulding pressure) and various craft treatments: wood staining, natural wax and the Japanese wood charring process - Yakisugi.

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.