"Especially at this time, it is important that a positive light be shone on the relationship between humans and microbes. After all, without microbes we humans would not exist. Lizan Freijsen takes our attempt to banish fungi from our daily environment as a starting point for her artistic work. By transforming them into art, she visualizes their beauty. With The Fungal Wall, Micropia brings science and art together, and we hope that visitors will be even more amazed by the invisible, but indispensable life around us", says Jasper Buikx -microbiologist and head of Micropia.
Artist Lizan Freijsen worked on the enormous wall composition for 1.5 years. "The location of Micropia is the perfect environment for my work. The fungal carpets really come home to roost here. Coming down the stairs gives the visitor a special perspective on the 'universe' of microbes that has become The Fungal Wall. We want to introduce people to the world of textiles, science and art. The creation and exchange between these disciplines is recorded in short films in an exceptional way. By providing insight into the growth and production processes, we hope to make an important contribution to the appreciation and imagination of these wonderful micro-organisms."
The process of fungal growth and handtufting in pictures
The Fungal Wall was made financially possible thanks to contributions from the Mondriaan Fund, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie. The tapestries were created through intensive collaboration between the TextielLab of Textielmuseum Tilburg, Tapetes Beiriz in North Portugal, Micropia, and Lizan's own studio in Rotterdam. The making process of The Fungal Wall has been recorded in a mini-documentary by Marieke van der Lippe. The growth process of fungi is also visualized in short timelapses by Wim van Egmond. This mini-documentary can be seen in Micropia from 17 June onwards.