32” x 13” x 5”

Organic and naturally dyed fiber, embroidery, organic cotton rope, locally farmed straw hulls, oyster mushroom spawn

This artwork re-circulates materials, biotic and abiotic, to articulate the abounding exchanges happening though (and between) the living and the dying. Spent agricultural wastes inoculated with fungi are wrapped together in the quilted and embroidered death shroud. Throughout history in many cultures death shrouds have been meticulously made by artisans to support and protect the deceased as they transition to the next life. These incredible tapestries were not meant for the living, rather they were meant to be given to the dead as a shield. On this death shroud, two wands of Yarrow are held in the hands, meant to symbolize strength and protection. Embroidered mycelium begins to grow at the third eye, and cotton rope contains and holds the figure intact. This fiber shroud is at once a symbol and a habitat for the organisms inside who feed off decaying matter. The shroud will eventually be consumed by the oyster mycelium and we will no longer be able to make out the visual, human-made marks.

After this work grew and fruited for six months, it was buried in Los Angeles, California. Offering its transformative and restorative materials and processes to the polluted landscape.

These photos show various stages of the artwork throughout the six month period, from the fabrication of the fiber shroud, to its myceliation , fruiting, and eventual burial.

Thank you to Re-Fest 2021, Culture Hub LA and the UCLA Art|Sci Center