A symbiotic installation by Zuza Mengham and Seb Camilleri.
Lichens are one of the most prolific but overlooked features of our natural environment, blooming everywhere from the most barren mountain slope to the concrete walls of the biggest cities. The result of a unique symbiosis between algae and fungi, as organisms they exist in a category of their own, filling the forgotten corners of our landscape with their peculiar fractal beauty. Throughout history, lichens have been used as indicators of pollution, as dyes, for their antibiotic properties, and – now – as the basis for a unique sculptural installation.
Invited by curators Hole & Corner, artist and designer Zuza Mengham presents a new series of sculptures that combine British lichens with the fair’s inaugural Material of the Year – Jesmonite. Using lichens obtained from across the UK, Mengham has created a series of five works, each incorporating and responding to a different British species, namely: Punctelia subrudecta, Xanthoria parietina, Physcia adscendens, Evernia prunastri and Flavoparmelia caperata.