Elena Martinoni Caleppio

This project speculates on new scenarios of coexistence between human beings and other species, specifically fungi, exploring potential strategies for the creation of enclosures through a constant reciprocity between the two constituents. The relationship is defined as epiphytic insofar as the organisms grow and feed off of each other without being parasitic.

The choice to speculate on a future in which humans need to accept a new degree of agency, as part of a larger ecology, stems from the observation of a distracted, present day society, disconnected from the natural environment and absorbed by an overpowering presence of technology in the everyday life. Programmatically the project addresses activities related to basic human needs: sleeping, eating and bathing, as well as the therapeutic use of mushrooms.

This kingdom of organisms is proven to cure multiple syndromes and diseases such as depression, cluster headaches and addiction. The intended users are both locals, living in the Red Hook housing projects, as well as any individual in need to regenerate, disconnect, restore their circadian rhythms, cure themselves…The site is the abandoned Red Hook Grain Terminal and surroundings, an area with high levels of soil toxicity, that this project aims to restore through mycelium bioremediation.