INSTALLATION: MycoDome for Melbourne Design Week

MycoDome for Melbourne Design Week

Presented By Mycelium Studios

EXHIBITION TIMES: 12–21 MAR, 10AM–5PM DAILY
OPENING: FRI 13 MAR, 6–10PM

Free entry

Meat Market,
Corner Courtney and Wreckyn St,
North Melbourne

Please view exhibition film here.

Mycodome is an immersive installation that explores ecology, society and culture through tracing and experimentation with the incredible and underrated material of fungi.

It interweaves material innovation, cultural paradigms of change and behavioural consumerism, exploring future sustainability and the possibility of how we overhaul systems; understand and innovate traditional practice at scale and the hope and possibility that this engenders in a time of deep disillusionment and challenge globally.

This is an experiment that takes a core nutrient to so many human outputs and rethinks their possibility; question industrial design methods; and explore applications such as soil remediation, eating plastic waste, cancer treatment, waste material utilisation, and biodegradable alternatives to multiple materials.

Our civilisation is at a precipice. We currently face challenges that we have never faced before. We have driven our life support systems to the brink of collapse and we cannot continue to maintain modes of existence that no longer support our species, or our planet’s collective health and wellbeing.

Mycelium, the largest and oldest form of life on this planet is quickly coming to the forefront. Fungi can eat plastic and consume agricultural and industrial waste. Fungi has the potential to replace concrete, rubber, polystyrene, leather, plastics, packaging, biomass, biofuel, insulation and much more.

Mycodome is an exploration of how we can re-interpret how we relate to the natural and built environment and shine a light on new modalities of production. The more we learn from and work with nature, the more we become able to mimic it’s natural rhythms, learn from biological systems and develop ecologically integrated modes of living. We can build innovative new products, services and systems, and with this evolves our economy for the benefit of the planet.

We have the tools for radical and immediate change to our habits of production and consumption. As a design, innovation and material production process this is the beginning of our journey and there is much exploration, development and refinement ahead. This is what makes it such an exciting material to work with. The opportunities to reinvigorate design, products and mass production are exponential.

Mycodome is an exhibition of the cycle of growth. It expresses a new paradigm of understanding production as a living process with an innate ecological value and huge potential.