This month, guest curator Mel Granley and chief collaborator Jaimie Isaac are releasing a new environmental-focused exhibit at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. It’s called Symbiosis and, according to Granley, the exhibit’s main focus is the power of mushrooms and how they can help us tackle climate change.
“I have been interested in mushrooms for quite some time,” says Granley. “When Jaimie and I had this idea about two years ago now, I had just learned about mycelium and how mycelial networks connect trees and mushrooms together, and how that benefits the entire forest. And so, we really wanted to create an exhibition that celebrated that and examined that.”
Granley has a passion for the subjects dealt with in this exhibit.
“I was drawn to this project because of my love for nature and my love of mushrooms, but also, I have a very strong interest in the convergence of science and art,” says Granley, “because I think they support each other, and I feel really honoured to have been part of a show like this where we are able to bring science and art together to interact with each other and sort of help people learn and boost people’s interest in these topics.”
Another theme explored in the exhibit, says Granley, is the relationship of mushrooms to popular culture, and how the public’s view of mushrooms has changed.
“We also were interested in pop culture and how mushrooms have become such a popular thing in society,” says Granley. “There are so many mushroom-themed decor, everyone seems to be really interested in mushrooms, and that sort of feels like it’s following that Fantastic Fungi documentary. And so, we wanted to explore pop culture and mushrooms, and how there’s been a shift from mushrooms being perceived as this deadly thing, this thing that’s associated with rot and decay and death to now we’re perceiving mushrooms more as very interesting, very beneficial. They have a lot of health benefits if you pick the right ones. And so we are really thinking about that dichotomy between the deadly mushrooms and the ones that are associated with death versus all these mushrooms that are now being perceived with health.”
The main thing that makes this exhibition stand out is a more fun-based approach to the topic of climate change, says Granley.
“I think that climate action and climate change and resource extraction are really serious topics, and they can feel really scary,” says Granley. “With our exhibition, we were trying to also curate a sense of whimsy and fun into the show. So, there are those heavy themes but we also have more fun and light-hearted pieces. For example, we have a set of these beautiful, scientifically accurate ceramic mushrooms that are fun to engage with, I think we have 99 of them. And then, in one piece, we have… a terrarium full of mushrooms that make music, and it is an interactive piece and so that one is really fun. I think that with this show we are trying to tackle serious topics, but we are also trying to create a sense of fun, and a sense of learning, and a sense of joy, because ecology is joyful.”
Granley says that the audience can expect to learn a lot about mushrooms and their relationship to trees.
“I think [the audience] can expect a lot of colour, a lot of different pieces,” acknowledges Granley. “They should expect to learn about mushrooms and trees. Jaimie and I like to say that the trees are equally as important as the mushrooms. A lot of times people will focus on the mushrooms and not think that the trees are as important, but they are just as important as each other.”
Symbiosis
Until Sunday, October 29
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
aggv.ca