This was a project about fungi identification and making self expression accessible. We drew inspiration from the famous surrealist game Exquisite Corpse and I sculpted many features that could be used when identifying a mushroom. For example, a shaggy cap or the size of a mushroom’s ring and many other elements. I gave an informal lecture that took the form of an ongoing series of questions and answers about mushroom identification and how their morphology can be used as a check-list of sorts.

Each element was sculpted, moulded and then slipcast to create repeating but varied ceramic versions, reflecting the protean deceptiveness that many species of fungi engage in. Participants assembled Frankenstein's monster-like amalgamations of mushrooms. Some were extra long with several rings. Others were stumpy with conflicting colours. The result was a kaleidoscope of possible but untrue mushrooms assembled much like a child would in a Brighton tourist shop, parts strung on strings with beads holding the cap or “bell” of the mushroom so it hung free of the stape. Then, as if to celebrate, the gust of wind spreading their spores, the mushrooms rang in the breeze.