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By Keir Williams + Riley Heasley
Mycology, the study of fungal organisms, describes the processes of branching and fusing as two key parts of the development of mycelia, the complex root-like structures underlying fungal formations. Hyphae, the tips of mycelia, bifurcate and branch out as the mycelium explores and colonises its surroundings.
Such branching, or diverging, give mycelia exploratory properties - they can symbiotically interconnect with other organisms including plants and other mycelia, or they can break down various kinds of matter they find into food sources.
When hyphae connect and converge, they fuse in what is called “the most basic networking act” (Sheldrake, 2021, p.35). Many of these fusing events create the “interconnected mycelial network of a fungal colony” (Glass, 2004, p.136)
Mycelium networks' rhizomic and node-based growth inspired 'memento vivere'—(remember to live). We used generative, creative processes to create a digital 'memento vivere' to emphasise that the anthropocene will be the end of humanity, not nature.
From prompts, mycelium, lichen, and moss photos, and paintings, we generated hundreds of images using a custom text-image generation model. The best images were used to refine the text-image model, then repeated. We then developed generative, node-based blender tools to 'grow' layers of mycelium, mosses, and lichens onto sculptural busts to simulate natural accretion and decay using the images from this process.
Mycology, the study of fungal organisms, describes the processes of branching and fusing as two key parts of the development of mycelia, the complex root-like structures underlying fungal formations. Hyphae, the tips of mycelia, bifurcate and branch out as the mycelium explores and colonises its surroundings.
Such branching, or diverging, give mycelia exploratory properties - they can symbiotically interconnect with other organisms including plants and other mycelia, or they can break down various kinds of matter they find into food sources.
When hyphae connect and converge, they fuse in what is called “the most basic networking act” (Sheldrake, 2021, p.35). Many of these fusing events create the “interconnected mycelial network of a fungal colony” (Glass, 2004, p.136)
Mycelium networks' rhizomic and node-based growth inspired 'memento vivere'—(remember to live). We used generative, creative processes to create a digital 'memento vivere' to emphasise that the anthropocene will be the end of humanity, not nature.
From prompts, mycelium, lichen, and moss photos, and paintings, we generated hundreds of images using a custom text-image generation model. The best images were used to refine the text-image model, then repeated. We then developed generative, node-based blender tools to 'grow' layers of mycelium, mosses, and lichens onto sculptural busts to simulate natural accretion and decay using the images from this process.
Dr. Keir Williams is the Course Leader for the BA (Hons) UX Design degree at the London College of Communication, UAL. He is an established participatory educator, designer, and creative technologist. His research and practice concentrate on the design and use of digital technologies to support advocacy, play, and education.
Riley Heasley is a UX designer and creative technologist who focuses on generative design for 3D modelling and interaction. He is currently studying for a BA in UX Design at the London College of Communication, UAL.
By Keir Williams + Riley Heasley
Mycology, the study of fungal organisms, describes the processes of branching and fusing as two key parts of the development of mycelia, the complex root-like structures underlying fungal formations. Hyphae, the tips of mycelia, bifurcate and branch out as the mycelium explores and colonises its surroundings.
Such branching, or diverging, give mycelia exploratory properties - they can symbiotically interconnect with other organisms including plants and other mycelia, or they can break down various kinds of matter they find into food sources.
When hyphae connect and converge, they fuse in what is called “the most basic networking act” (Sheldrake, 2021, p.35). Many of these fusing events create the “interconnected mycelial network of a fungal colony” (Glass, 2004, p.136)
Mycelium networks' rhizomic and node-based growth inspired 'memento vivere'—(remember to live). We used generative, creative processes to create a digital 'memento vivere' to emphasise that the anthropocene will be the end of humanity, not nature.
From prompts, mycelium, lichen, and moss photos, and paintings, we generated hundreds of images using a custom text-image generation model. The best images were used to refine the text-image model, then repeated. We then developed generative, node-based blender tools to 'grow' layers of mycelium, mosses, and lichens onto sculptural busts to simulate natural accretion and decay using the images from this process.
Mycology, the study of fungal organisms, describes the processes of branching and fusing as two key parts of the development of mycelia, the complex root-like structures underlying fungal formations. Hyphae, the tips of mycelia, bifurcate and branch out as the mycelium explores and colonises its surroundings.
Such branching, or diverging, give mycelia exploratory properties - they can symbiotically interconnect with other organisms including plants and other mycelia, or they can break down various kinds of matter they find into food sources.
When hyphae connect and converge, they fuse in what is called “the most basic networking act” (Sheldrake, 2021, p.35). Many of these fusing events create the “interconnected mycelial network of a fungal colony” (Glass, 2004, p.136)
Mycelium networks' rhizomic and node-based growth inspired 'memento vivere'—(remember to live). We used generative, creative processes to create a digital 'memento vivere' to emphasise that the anthropocene will be the end of humanity, not nature.
From prompts, mycelium, lichen, and moss photos, and paintings, we generated hundreds of images using a custom text-image generation model. The best images were used to refine the text-image model, then repeated. We then developed generative, node-based blender tools to 'grow' layers of mycelium, mosses, and lichens onto sculptural busts to simulate natural accretion and decay using the images from this process.
Dr. Keir Williams is the Course Leader for the BA (Hons) UX Design degree at the London College of Communication, UAL. He is an established participatory educator, designer, and creative technologist. His research and practice concentrate on the design and use of digital technologies to support advocacy, play, and education.
Riley Heasley is a UX designer and creative technologist who focuses on generative design for 3D modelling and interaction. He is currently studying for a BA in UX Design at the London College of Communication, UAL.
By Keir Williams + Riley Heasley
Mycology, the study of fungal organisms, describes the processes of branching and fusing as two key parts of the development of mycelia, the complex root-like structures underlying fungal formations. Hyphae, the tips of mycelia, bifurcate and branch out as the mycelium explores and colonises its surroundings.
Such branching, or diverging, give mycelia exploratory properties - they can symbiotically interconnect with other organisms including plants and other mycelia, or they can break down various kinds of matter they find into food sources.
When hyphae connect and converge, they fuse in what is called “the most basic networking act” (Sheldrake, 2021, p.35). Many of these fusing events create the “interconnected mycelial network of a fungal colony” (Glass, 2004, p.136)
Mycelium networks' rhizomic and node-based growth inspired 'memento vivere'—(remember to live). We used generative, creative processes to create a digital 'memento vivere' to emphasise that the anthropocene will be the end of humanity, not nature.
From prompts, mycelium, lichen, and moss photos, and paintings, we generated hundreds of images using a custom text-image generation model. The best images were used to refine the text-image model, then repeated. We then developed generative, node-based blender tools to 'grow' layers of mycelium, mosses, and lichens onto sculptural busts to simulate natural accretion and decay using the images from this process.
Mycology, the study of fungal organisms, describes the processes of branching and fusing as two key parts of the development of mycelia, the complex root-like structures underlying fungal formations. Hyphae, the tips of mycelia, bifurcate and branch out as the mycelium explores and colonises its surroundings.
Such branching, or diverging, give mycelia exploratory properties - they can symbiotically interconnect with other organisms including plants and other mycelia, or they can break down various kinds of matter they find into food sources.
When hyphae connect and converge, they fuse in what is called “the most basic networking act” (Sheldrake, 2021, p.35). Many of these fusing events create the “interconnected mycelial network of a fungal colony” (Glass, 2004, p.136)
Mycelium networks' rhizomic and node-based growth inspired 'memento vivere'—(remember to live). We used generative, creative processes to create a digital 'memento vivere' to emphasise that the anthropocene will be the end of humanity, not nature.
From prompts, mycelium, lichen, and moss photos, and paintings, we generated hundreds of images using a custom text-image generation model. The best images were used to refine the text-image model, then repeated. We then developed generative, node-based blender tools to 'grow' layers of mycelium, mosses, and lichens onto sculptural busts to simulate natural accretion and decay using the images from this process.
Dr. Keir Williams is the Course Leader for the BA (Hons) UX Design degree at the London College of Communication, UAL. He is an established participatory educator, designer, and creative technologist. His research and practice concentrate on the design and use of digital technologies to support advocacy, play, and education.
Riley Heasley is a UX designer and creative technologist who focuses on generative design for 3D modelling and interaction. He is currently studying for a BA in UX Design at the London College of Communication, UAL.
By Keir Williams + Riley Heasley
Mycology, the study of fungal organisms, describes the processes of branching and fusing as two key parts of the development of mycelia, the complex root-like structures underlying fungal formations. Hyphae, the tips of mycelia, bifurcate and branch out as the mycelium explores and colonises its surroundings.
Such branching, or diverging, give mycelia exploratory properties - they can symbiotically interconnect with other organisms including plants and other mycelia, or they can break down various kinds of matter they find into food sources.
When hyphae connect and converge, they fuse in what is called “the most basic networking act” (Sheldrake, 2021, p.35). Many of these fusing events create the “interconnected mycelial network of a fungal colony” (Glass, 2004, p.136)
Mycelium networks' rhizomic and node-based growth inspired 'memento vivere'—(remember to live). We used generative, creative processes to create a digital 'memento vivere' to emphasise that the anthropocene will be the end of humanity, not nature.
From prompts, mycelium, lichen, and moss photos, and paintings, we generated hundreds of images using a custom text-image generation model. The best images were used to refine the text-image model, then repeated. We then developed generative, node-based blender tools to 'grow' layers of mycelium, mosses, and lichens onto sculptural busts to simulate natural accretion and decay using the images from this process.
Mycology, the study of fungal organisms, describes the processes of branching and fusing as two key parts of the development of mycelia, the complex root-like structures underlying fungal formations. Hyphae, the tips of mycelia, bifurcate and branch out as the mycelium explores and colonises its surroundings.
Such branching, or diverging, give mycelia exploratory properties - they can symbiotically interconnect with other organisms including plants and other mycelia, or they can break down various kinds of matter they find into food sources.
When hyphae connect and converge, they fuse in what is called “the most basic networking act” (Sheldrake, 2021, p.35). Many of these fusing events create the “interconnected mycelial network of a fungal colony” (Glass, 2004, p.136)
Mycelium networks' rhizomic and node-based growth inspired 'memento vivere'—(remember to live). We used generative, creative processes to create a digital 'memento vivere' to emphasise that the anthropocene will be the end of humanity, not nature.
From prompts, mycelium, lichen, and moss photos, and paintings, we generated hundreds of images using a custom text-image generation model. The best images were used to refine the text-image model, then repeated. We then developed generative, node-based blender tools to 'grow' layers of mycelium, mosses, and lichens onto sculptural busts to simulate natural accretion and decay using the images from this process.
Dr. Keir Williams is the Course Leader for the BA (Hons) UX Design degree at the London College of Communication, UAL. He is an established participatory educator, designer, and creative technologist. His research and practice concentrate on the design and use of digital technologies to support advocacy, play, and education.
Riley Heasley is a UX designer and creative technologist who focuses on generative design for 3D modelling and interaction. He is currently studying for a BA in UX Design at the London College of Communication, UAL.