Fungus.exe

Abstract

The Wood Wide Web, known as the mycorrhizal network, is a complex underground root system in all forest and plant communities. It was discovered in 1997 by Suzanne Simard, a Ph.D. in Forest Science when she studied one of the large trees being the central hub to the mycorrhizal fungi, which were linked to other trees in the area. The importance of the mycorrhizal network is how they transport essential nutrients and minerals, such as water, nitrogen, carbon, etc., onto neighboring plants that are in need and send defense chemicals when under attack. The dark side of the mycorrhizal network is the competitive nature of the plant communities, such as sending toxins to eliminate competition or more small plants and orchids stealing carbons from sickly trees. The main focus of this thesis essay is the process and threshold of learning new skills, creating art using small technologies, and hitting the goal of providing knowledge to those who have never heard about the mycorrhizal network. Three inspirations of bio-artists helped fuel my motivation to continue this project, such as Vanouse's Project Labor, where he recreated human sweat through industrial machines, Anicka Yi's exhibition We Have Never Been Individual, where she uses biology and art to create fascinating artwork, and Xiaojing Yan's Lingzhi Girls series, where she grew Lingzhi spores onto female busts to capture the meaning of nature and comparing to the Chinese mythology. I decided to use simple technology, such as arcade buttons, light strips, and a microcontroller, to limit the challenges and reach my deadline promptly. I tried specific methods to capture what I imagined my project could result. The limited coding skills, soldering skills, and the complication of specific codes made things challenging. After working on this project and solving many obstacles that came my way for months, I've reached my goals.