Textile experiments front & back, 2024

by Aléa

With the goal to reimagine processes of fabrication that are regenerative and contribute to biodiversity, Back to dirt recognizes an opportunity in the disconnect between mycelium’s use in design and its capacity in the ecosystem.

Myco-fabrication allows for the creation of bio-circular materials from waste using mycelium, the vegetative part of fungi. This process presents a promising alternative to traditional industrial fabrication methods. Yet, the process takes place in a sterile lab - while in its natural environment the organism thrives on the diversity of its interrelationships. It is in this disparity that we lose the opportunity to co-benefit in our manufacturing processes - for example, integrating the potential for mycelium to break down toxic compounds and remediate soils and store carbon below ground.

Back to dirt looks to expand on the current trajectory of myco-fabrication, and propose a new more reciprocal bio-collaboration that instead of isolating the organism from its environment, embraces its interrelationships. The process utilizes local organic waste as substrates and soil as a mold for mycelial growth to fabricate objects below ground. In this process, the mycelium not only assembles the substrate but it expands beyond the mold, continuing to thrive even after the object has been harvested.

This ongoing research is supported by FAIRE Paris.

Mycelium assembled waste bricks

Depending on the used substrate the materials can acquire different properties and weight.

Part of the research project Back to dirt is supported by FAIRE, a research and experimentation program launched by the Pavillon de l'Arsenal with the support of the City of Paris, the Caisse des dépôts, EDF and MINI.

More on Aléa

‘Dirty chair N.3’ is a stepping stone in Aléa’s ongoing experimentations for their research project Back to dirt.

It differs from previous experiments - instead of working in-ground outdoors, the process now brings soil into the studio where the duo successfully fabricated a chair submerged in soil inside a glass tank. This is the first step in developing a middle ground where the process requires the use of soil while the designer retains some control over the material properties.

‘Back to Dirt’ is a transdisciplinary research project that proposes a new, more locally attuned and integrated process of working with mycelium. In embracing the interrelationships of mycelium Aléa looks to imagine new ways of making that benefit the other-than-human world.

The project is supported by FAIRE, a program launched by the Pavillon de l'Arsenal with the support of the City of Paris, the Caisse des dépôts, EDF and MINI.

Dirty Chair N.4 sprouting mushrooms, 2023

Shredded paper and mycelium grown in soil in glass tank

2023

Reclaimed magazines, pleurotus mycelium grown in soil

2023

Denim scraps and mycelium grown in soil and glass tank

2023

Shredded paper, Pleurotus mycelium grown onsite in cardboard tubes and soil

BLOODY LIPSTICK, BLOOMING DIRT

Exhibition curated by Indira Béraud & Marco Galvan

ZÉRUÌ, Unit 10, Vanguard Court SE5 8QT London

Honey I watered the screen

Materials: discarded objects and mycelium

Collaboration with Aléa, Atelier 37.2 & Nicolas Guiraud

Observations studies N.1, 2021

Pleurotus mycelium consuming and assembling magnolia cone

Observation studies N.2, 2021

Series of totems made from waste being consumed and assembled by pleurotus mycelium.

Materials: Mycelium inoculated reclaimed paper cube, egg carton pieces, cardboard tube, walnut shell, wooden coffee sticks, beer coaster

2023

Ongoing collaboration Aléa Work x Céline Breton

Photography by Victor Poullain

materials: glass & mycelium grown on hemp and cotton scraps

View descriptions & more combinations here

Image: ‘Food for mycelium’, Miriam Josi 2021

During the past three years I have animated a number of workshops at design schools through a variety of formats, using mycelium as a point of departure. Collaborating with this living organism enables experiential learning and allows us to question the designer’s role and relationship to materials. Discovering the world of fungi has been, and continues to be, a valuable lesson in humility and multispecies interdependence.

The experience allows/requires us to:

Engage all senses

Shift perspective 

Challenge perceptions of waste and value 

Adapt to different timelines and needs

Develop rituals of attention and care

Welcome unpredictability 

Embrace Impermanence 

Rise ethical questions in interspecies collaboration 

Redefine our role as designers

Contact me if you are interested in my research into the pedagogical value of working with mycelium in design education.