Fungi and rot carry the stigma of death and decay. However, mycelial networks are key agents in processes of soil formation and regeneration. Without fungi and rot, the very ground that nourishes us simply wouldn’t exist.

SPORA is a transdisciplinary platform for artistic and ecological experimentation grounded in mycelium—as both material and methodology. For the ifk, they draw connections between mycelial structures and the unconscious. As early as 1900, Sigmund Freud compared fungal processes to the workings of dreams. C. G. Jung expanded this metaphor to a collective unconscious, while Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari mapped unconscious desire as a rhizomatic non-structure. Contemporary feminist and eco‑critical writers further this lineage toward psycho‑ecology, insisting that in the psyche, there can be connections to the more‑than‑human.

The exhibition will unfold in three phases, each initiated by a workshop led by SPORA, where questions around mycelial practices and the generativity of the unconscious will be discussed. A temporary library of second‑hand books (found and donated) will be inoculated with Pleurotus spawn. Over the course of the show, fungal filaments will weave through the pages, reorganizing cellulose, ink, and thought alike—until edible fruiting bodies sprout along the book spines. Program and registration: www.ifk.ac.at

Co-founded by Charlotte Janis and Roberto Dell’Orco, the collective SPORA engages with fungi through artistic, participatory, and research-driven approaches and activates a wide range of formats that foster intergenerational and transdisciplinary exchange. Most recently, they transformed Hegel with fungi for the Künstlerhaus Stuttgart.

In cooperation with Co.Lab Mycelial Space and Sigmund Freud Museum