in our interview, curator francesca gavin discusses how mushrooms have inspired artists and designers, from alice’s adventures in wonderland to contemporary art and experimental materials, and what fungi can teach us about our relationship with nature.

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Francesca Gavin explores fungi in visual survey by Phaidon

Fungi occupy an unusual place in the human imagination, appearing in botanical illustrations, folklore, children’s literature, and contemporary art, while their intricate underground networks have increasingly attracted the attention of scientists, architects, and designers. Their appeal lies partly in their extraordinary diversity, but also in the questions they raise about how we understand intelligence, ecological relationships, and our place within the natural world. For writer and curator Francesca Gavin, the growing interest in mushrooms reflects a wider desire to find new ways of understanding the world around us.…