Lowlight no.1

2021

Finalist ‘Contemporary Wearables’ exhibited at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery

Materials: Mycelium, copper

The wearable sculpture ‘Lowlight’ is a collaborative piece with Adelaide designer Jake Shaw that uses mycelium to explore relationships between people and materials. It embodies the connection Shaw and I have with each other as well as the intimacy we create with our materials. It also looks at the possibilities of mycelium as a material in design, sculpture and jewellery.

To make this work Shaw first grew the material in moulds, which I then take to interpret in my own aesthetic. In a way, he's my supplier, but Shaw has influence on the finished product. This piece was new territory for both of us and the result is a constant conservation. Although the growing of the material happens in a controlled environment the result is variable and can be unpredictable. Working like this, the material can direct the outcome. I often introduce a small amount of chaos in my work (sometimes knowingly and sometimes subconsciously), but I find it helpful in opening up new perspectives and growth within my practice. Similarly Shaw adopts a light touch, treating the mycelium with reverence and allowing it to have some authorship of the outcome.