Fungi accompany us everywhere we go: in the soil, in the air, on our skin, in buildings and outdoors.
Some are colorful with caps and stems, others are tiny and live in inaccessible places, and some spin extensive underground networks (mycelia). Without fungi, no living creature on earth could exist in its current form, but their importance in the network of life is often underestimated. The exhibition Mushrooms - Interwoven Worlds takes you on a mushroom hunt - in contemporary art. Complemented by scientific positions, the show with international artists invites you to rediscover the amazing world of mushrooms.
Until the 20th century, mushrooms were considered plants. Today we know that alongside flora and fauna there is the "Funga": the huge and still largely mysterious and unexplored kingdom of fungi. There are said to be more than 3 million species, but only about 120,000 have been scientifically described and researched. There is huge potential here: both to better understand and preserve life on earth and to implement ecologically sustainable lifestyles. Mushrooms can be used to obtain material for packaging, clothing and the construction industry. They can be eaten as a meat substitute and used to produce medicinally effective substances. We can probably still learn a lot from these thread-like creatures.
The exhibition focuses on the relationships between fungi, plants, insects and humans, because fungi are the great networkers among living creatures. How do fungi live? What does their existence have to do with ours? What can we learn from fungi? Together with artists from all over the world, the exhibition explores such questions. It moves between growing mycelium and talking fly agarics and sometimes literally examines fungi. Complemented by objects from the natural sciences, the show helps us see the living world of fungi around us with different eyes.
With works by
Rodrigo Arteaga, Selin Balci, Suzette Bousema, Anne Carnein, Mia Dudek, Anna Dumitriu and Alex May, Wim van Egmond, Dominik Einfalt, David Fenster, Juan Ferrer and Natalie Cabrera, Fungi Foundation, Takashi Homma, Markus Huemer, Silas Inoue, Liu Yujia, Phyllis Ma, MY-CO-X, Jana Palečková, Irena Posner, SPUN, V. meer and others