Border crossings and connections

Abstract

From 30 September 2023 to 7 January 2024, the Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm presented the show Fungi—In Art and Science. For the exhibition, an alliance of scientists, artists, and designers was brought together that overcame all the alleged borders between the disciplines, between the scientific and the creative world. This special exhibition is the starting point to take on a tour where it is about crossing borders and growing connections when working with fungi. My interview partners represent perfectly the different angles from which you can take a look onto the kingdom of fungi. There is the person without previous knowledge but with a profound artistic understanding who got mesmerized by the subject-matter, which he didn’t realize it existed before—Karl-Johan Cottman. There is the scientist, being knee-deep in fungi matter who discovered the arts for an extension of her scientific understanding—Vera Meyer. And last but not least there is the person living passionately for the arts who found fungi mesmerizing for both art creation and progressive/sustainable production—Phil Ross. So, there are three threads weaving one fungal fabric. Have fun reading it!