Video, Animation and Sound, Full HD Video, 03:45min, 2021
In the series "in the forest" I deal with symbiotic and parasitic relationships in (fungal) flora and fauna. The first work of the series "in the forest #1" is about the infestation of the ant species camponotus leonardi, native to subtropical and tropical forests, by the parasitic fungus ophicordyceps unilateralis. The spores of the fungus infect the exoskeleton of the ants, grow inside them, manipulate their behaviour and lead the infected insect to a place offering optimal living conditions for the fungus. Once there, the ant dies and the fungus continues to thrive within it, forming new fruiting bodies and spores that in turn infect more ants. The work poetizes the behaviour of the two living beings and transforms the relationship into a supposedly toxic liaison between ant and fungus, told from the point of view of the fungus.
(…) your skeleton will be my scaffolding, your shell will be my walls, your insides will be my crib (…)
Weblinks