Plasmodium

Plasmodium is an AR work that explores and showcases slime molds (and a few normal mushrooms), which interestingly enough are not actually mold (also not a fungi, bacteria, animalia…), more of an amalgamation of unrelated eukaryotic organisms that didn’t fit into previously determined kingdoms.

I showcase the bridal veil mushroom in this piece, which mimics a birdcage wedding veil so unbelievably perfectly. Birdcage veils originated in the 1940s when veils were shorter because of a fabric shortage during the second world war. Thus I focused primarily on adaptability for this work.

I also utilized the notion of coverage, over a singular veil type, and on the concept of wabi-sabi - which from my understanding focuses on transience, imperfection, and connecting with nature.

Slime molds are ancient and adaptive. They move efficiently and collectively, seek amenable conditions, and anticipate sudden changes - all without a brain. I think its nice to take inspiration from this, change does not have to be rapid to be impactful, you are allowed to move through life and seek comfort at your own pace.

Species showcased here: (some may be misclassified its hard to identify slime molds)

• Bridal Veil // Phallus indusiatus
• Wolfs Milk Slime mold // Lycogala epidendrum
• Dog Vomit Slime mold // Fuligo septica
• tapioca slime mold // Brefeldia maxima
• coral slime mold // Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa
• snowy disco slime mold // Lachnum virgineum
• Violet webcap  // Cortinarius violaceus
• Turkey Tail // Trametes versicolor