✅ [Date] September 11, 2024
✅ [Location] PRIMORDIA 2, Berlin Art Week 2024
✅ [Medium] Fomes Fomentarius & Ganoderma Lucidum on a found smoking pipe

The fungal composite pipe is a bio-artwork that uses the mycelia of the Fomes fomentarius and Ganoderma Lucidum fungi. The mycofabricated object is a lightweight, porous, and biodegradable ‘pipe’ that is more than a pipe. It is a living organism that can decompose organic matter, produce chitin and chitosan, and interact with other fungi and bacteria. The fungal composite pipe is not a representation but a transformation. It does not mimic or resemble a pipe; it transforms the pipe into a new entity. The pipe is not a signifier but a substrate. The pipe is not a pipe but a medium for the growth and expression of the fungus. The fungal composite pipe is not a pipe but a multispecies metempsychosis. -Xristina Sarli

Ceci N’est Pas Une Pipe—This is Not a Pipe, But a Fungus

René Magritte challenged perception when he painted his iconic pipe, reminding us that a representation is not the thing itself. But what happens when the object itself refuses to stay within its definition?

A pipe, once a tool for human indulgence, now serves a new function—not as a vessel for smoke, but as a substrate for life.

A transformation is happening. The pipe is no longer just a pipe—it is more.

– It is decomposing.
– It is growing.
– It is rejecting its past function and becoming something else.

Much like the fungi that reclaim it, the pipe refuses to remain a static object. It challenges what it was, what it is, and what it could become.

A Pipe That Breathes, Consumes, and Persists

This bio-artwork is not a replica of a pipe, nor a metaphorical illusion of one.
It is a living entity, continuously reshaping itself.

– It is not an object but an ecosystem.
– It is not a tool but a transition.
– It is not an artifact but an active participant in decay and renewal.

By introducing Fomes fomentarius and Ganoderma lucidum, species known for their resilience and regenerative properties, the pipe becomes:

✔️ A site of microbial interaction
✔️ A bridge between past human use and post-human speculation
✔️ A rejection of permanence in favor of fluidity

Reclaiming the Forgotten: The Mycelial Metaphor

This is not just about a pipe—this is about how we define and assign meaning to objects, systems, and ourselves.

Just as fungi consume, digest, and repurpose, we must question:

–What in our society needs decomposing?
– What structures need to be reclaimed?
– What roles can we reimagine beyond their traditional use?

The fungi do not ask for permission. They take what is dead and make it alive again.

Perhaps this is the real lesson:
We, too, can be reclaimed.

More Than a Pipe, More Than a Symbol

– If Magritte’s painting was about representation, this pipe is about transformation.
– If a pipe was once a tool of human habit, it is now a bridge to something beyond human intent.
– If decay is seen as an end, fungi remind us it is only a beginning.

This is not a pipe.
This is not an artwork.
This is a living question.

What will you allow to be reclaimed?

Berlin Art Week 2024

–> “More Than a Pipe” – Fomes Fomentarius & Ganoderma Lucidum on found object
–>Part of PRIMORDIA 2, curated by @mycelionaires at @mahallaberlin
–> Join the conversation—what objects in your life should fungi reclaim next?