​01 March 2024​    ​Intervention1

I imagine this as 9 similar blocks of Pleurotus mycelium.

From past experiments, I realize that the pasteurized straw  would need to be compressed into molds, together with the spawn, and put into plastic bags to be left in the dark until colonized by the mycelium.

It would be a good idea to insert small plastic containers into the molds when packing, as this would result in hollow mycelial blocks. 

The narrative would revolve around the fruiting blocks being 'surgically altered' using needles and exposed wiring. Programmable waterproof LED strips could be threaded into the blocks in sterile conditions.  

Fluctuating sensory output would be visual (LEDs) and auditory (small speakers). The ambience of an operating theatre and surgical intervention could be programmed into these.  ​

Moore, 2024. Untitled. Inks. 13 x 21cm.

The input  would determine the interactions with the viewers, and this could be both viewer movements (with PIR detection) and touch (with some of the wires being capacitive sensors).
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Question: How would the viewers realize they should touch the installation? Lewis Carroll's instructions in Alice in Wonderland  jump to mind - 'Eat me' and 'Drink me'!