Going Tinder Fungal presents works from artistic research on the tinder fungus (lat. Fomes fomentarius), which concedes the non-human world of fungi its own perspective. Art and nature no longer form a hierarchical dichotomy, but intra-act and entangle here in terms of form and content, and animate each other.
The focus is on the tree sponge itself, not on its 5000-year use by humans or its function in the decomposition of wood. Going Tinder Fungal focuses on the bodies of the tinder fungus, their vegetative diversity and association with micro-organisms and (dead) wood.
This reveals the fungus’ own (micro)cosmology.
In her artistic research, Christina Maria Pfeifer regards the fungus to be an independently acting living being that can enter into a relation-ship with others. For example, it emits spores and scents through the air. This human-non-human offer of relationship is her central interest. She consciously responds to it and develops relational practices with the fungal living beings of the more than human world.
