– Spore Print Film #15 & Spore Print Film #16 Approx. 3minutes (x2), miscellaneous mushroom spores, 16mm film, 2016 These experiments begin their lifecycles with the production and collection of the agaricus bisporus; cantharellus cibarius; hericium erinaceus; and pleurotus ostreatus, djamor and columbinus spores that comprise the 16mm film prints. Contact is slowly severed as they are played and new films are gradually produced in installation. The soundscapes are also derived from the structures. The spores are played by the projectors, creating their own organic music as they run through the machine. The films present media and matter as vibrant and spontaneous. They are not only meant to be seen and heard, but inhaled as well... – Forest Dweller Prints 28x12inches, miscellaneous mushroom spores, 16mm film, 2016 Cantharellus cibarius, Hericium erinaceus, and cortinariaceae spores from forest dwelling mushrooms foraged mid-summer 2014 to early fall 2015. – Shaggy Mane Prints (Triptych) 16x20inches (x2) & 48x11inches, shaggy mane spores & 16mm film strips, 2015 Coprinus comatus spores foraged in Buffalo pocket parks and at the home of a dear friend in Boston, NY. – Miscelaneous Pleurotus Prints 24x48inches, oyster mushroom spores & 16mm film strips, 2016 Homegrown pleurotus ostreatus, djamor and columbinus spores. __________________________________________ Spore Print Film Series is an ongoing experiment (2010-present) This series is a study of organic, modern and contemporary technologies that explore cycles of creation, destruction and archival permanence. Edible mushrooms are grown and harvested to create 16mm sound films and derivative materials. Mushroom spores (their reproductive unit) are placed on film (a reproductive unit) to produce an audiovisual loop. As the projector loops the film, playing its deteriorating images and sounds, the film is digitally recorded and then archived. Like fingerprints, no two spore prints are exactly alike. Along with color, smell and other physical markers, they are used as a testing mechanism for field identification. Hundreds of individual mushroom spore prints make up each film, and billions of spores comprise each print – each with their own unique shape and coloring. During projection, kinetic forces disperse the spores – accentuating and de-saturating the films’ colors and sounds. These colors, shapes and sounds are only palpable, like the spores themselves, when experienced en masse. Each of the films in the series features different audiovisual movements provided by different mushroom species, including: portabellas, shaggy manes, micas, chanterelles, and various oyster mushrooms – producing prints ranging from intense Rorschachs made of melted black ink, to delicate white, brown, grey, green, pink and yellow arrangements that shadow the shapes of the gills that they rain down from.
