FINALLY... PROGRESS! (WE THINK...)
After meeting up Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, we're finally on the right track. Although there is still some refinement needed, we've conceptualised an abstracted mushroom form, acting as a sort of micro-lab to house the Mycelium and paste. Ben produced a simple render to show the general form and materiality of the design.
With this design, we're solely focusing on how the Mycelium grows where there is food. Specifically, we want a series of users to deposit the paste (or food) in to a dish using a type of drench-gun, essentially 'drawing' whatever the user desires on to the surface. Each user will be given a small amount of paste, with the next person adding to the path. Mycelium would have previously been placed within the center of the dish, allowing this to grow over the path defined by the users. This process highlights how the Mycelium will only grow if there is food available.
Fitted with a GoPro in the roof of the structure, the entire process will be recorded. As the Mycelium will take around 5 days to consume the paste 'path', a time-lapse will be played while the installation is taking place so, if the users come back the following week, they will be able to see how the Mycelium consumes their part of the paste.
This would be part of an art installation, with the Mycelium being cleared out of the enclosure each week to allow for a new 'batch' of paste and users.
We have purchased an Ag Pad (heat mat) to ensure a warm growing environment for the Mycelium. The mat surface temperature reaches 36degrees with surrounding soil between 22-26degrees - this should be ideal for growing the Oyster mushroom Mycelium strain.