The faculty and students of the Underground Symbiosis class are ready to show you something you’ve never seen before.
We invite you to experience Where Rocks are Fed to Trees, an art installation inspired by the subterranean, fungal communication networks that enable the sharing and transport of nutrients between different species.
This multi-channel video projection environment was collaboratively created within the context of an Art/Science course at the Ohio State University, Art 5001: Underground Symbiosis: the art and science of mycorrhizal networks. This co-taught course built on synergies between Professor Iris Meier’s research in Arbuscular Mycorrhizae and Professor Amy Youngs’ ecosystem installation artworks. Together, with 16 undergraduate students, we performed scientific experiments such as microscopy, staining, chemical analysis and plant growth trials, to better understand mycorrhizae. Artistic methods, such as observation, speculation, synthesis, manipulation, construction and presentation, were also employed throughout our investigations, which have culminated in this co-created, immersive, art/science installation.
It will be presented as part of the Art and Technology exhibition, Loving the Obligate Symbiont, in Hopkins Hall, at the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. We invite the public to join us for the reception on Monday, April 25th, 5 – 8pm. Or visit during open hours on April 21, 22 or 25th. More info.
Artists:
Trent Bailey, Brandon Ball, Katherine Beigel, Gaopeng Chen, Tyler Collins, Sarah Hockman, Shatae Johnson, Eric Lo, Jacob Markusic, Iris Meier, Yoni Mizrachi, Julianne Panzo, Edwin Rice, Ethan Schaefer, Aaron Theesfeld, Robert Ward, and Amy Youngs.
Special thanks to our supporters:
- The Department of Molecular Genetics
- The Department of Art
- College of Arts and Sciences Small Grant Program
- Biological Sciences Greenhouse
- Chadwick Arboretum
And thanks to the following individuals, for inspiring our class with presentations and technical assistance: Eduardo Acosta, Dr. Ana Alonso, Jean-Christophe Cocuron, Dr. Dobritsa, Anna Griffis, Norman Groves, Kim Landsbergen, Joan Leonard, Galen Rask, and Emily Yoders-Horn.
More class photos here.