ISHITA CHAKRABORTY

EUROPA

Sculptural installation
Fired unglazed ceramic clays. 
Size variable
2019 to ongoing

The mushroom installation is the result of multiple participatory workshops in which refugees, migrants, and locals shared their stories and engaged in crafting mushrooms as an enriched community experience. The hue of the mushrooms alludes to the skin color of the hands that sculpted them. Chakraborty says: "Mushrooms migrate. They grow wherever they find nutrients. And so, I started depicting people as these little mushrooms. Just like in a natural ecosystem, we are also connected by our stories and experiences.“

Chakraborty was inspired by Anna Tsing's book "The Mushroom at the End of the World “. An exploratory essay on capitalism based on one of the most valuable edible mushroom in the world — the Matsutake mushroom. The author also describes how people migrate across the globe in mutual dependence alongside plants in search of nutrients, whether in the form of carbohydrates or love.

Please contact us if you would like to receive more details about this art installation collect@artpowher.com or visit our online art gallery Artsy.