MANTIS AZUL
Mycelium, clay, bacteria, you and me, we are all complex nervous systems living, remembering and dying. My work is the experiment of conveying the complexity of life. The life that mourns, grieves and lets go all the same.
The mycelial growth binds itself to my memories, and becomes an extension of me. My fathers laugh, and the pretty leaf I took a photo of become nutrients that are then absorbed by the mycelium. I make objects made to preserve but not to last. My specimens take form as artifacts to allude to a history unplaceable. A history that lives in the present.
The mycelial brick will eventually decay, and meld with the earth. The E.coli bacteria will stop growing and die. I want to say goodbye. I want to let go. It is so human to ground ourselves in memory: To recall and relive moments that have passed. Nature is seemingly content with just living. I think it's beautiful how nervous death makes us. In the end, what are we losing in letting go?
I create access points of connection to living systems by using anchor points of the human experience such as nostalgia, memory, loss and presence.
Most importantly, my art is an experiment. A will to try and understand what I am ultimately unsure about. To connect to what I fear and feel so deeply for.
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