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'''PHYSARUM POLYCEPHALUM'''
'''INSIDE AND OUTSIDE WE ARE THE SAME'''


It's Physarum's world and we're just living in it


Documentation:
[[File:kleidung.jpg|400px]]


[[File:4957.JPG|400px]]


'''22.04.2021'''
Fashion is always a statement piece. No one will ever just wear something. Clothes will always express
something: a lifestyle, an occupation, a state of mind. When a human chooses to wear clothes that have
dormant slime mold on it, when a human has an organism living on its clothes, what does that say
about the human? Is it disgusting? Is it to not feel alone? Would a human rather have the slime grow on
its skin and the clothes are just the next possible option?
The collection of clothing “Inside and outside we are the same” is not part of the fast fashion world.
Neither is it part of the sustainable fashion world, which claims to be connected to nature. It is a
different world: ''Physarum Polycephalum''’s world. This world is usually deep in a forest, on rotten
wood, slimy and smelling. When wearing ''Physarum Polycephalum'' clothes humans might become a
part of this world. Humans are sharing their bodies with a living organism. Humans are connected to
nature, and disconnected from the fast fashion world, humans are post-sustainable, environmentally
conscious, but in a disgusting way.
Wearing ''Physarum Polycephalum'' clothes is nothing that should be done frivolously. After all it is a
dormant - but living - organism on your clothes. While wearing ''Physarum Polycephalum'' clothes human will never be alone. Human will be accompanied by a single-cell slime mold. On the other
hand, humans can never rely on ''Physarum Polycephalum'' to be suitable for a clothing piece: will it
grow into the right direction? On the right foil? Will it keep growing or should it be applied onto the
fabric immediately? It is alive and has its own will. Growing fast, slow or not at all. With the ''Physarum
Polycephalum'' the clothes it lives on have cycles too. The ''Physarum Polycephalum'' can be removed and
be regrown in a petri-dish. In the meantime the clothes can be washed. Then the organism can be
reapplied onto the clothes. And every time this happens a new and unique clothing piece will be
created, which is growing and changing with the slime mold.


Sample 1:
<gallery>
File:22.4.21 1.jpg
File:22.4.21 2.jpg
File:22.4.21.jpg
</gallery>


Sample 2:
<gallery>
<gallery>
File:22.4. 1.jpg
File:IMG_49541.JPG
File:22.4. 2.jpg
File:IMG_4940.JPG
File:22.4. 3.jpg
File:IMG_4946.JPG
File:IMG_4949.JPG
File:IMG_4952.JPG
File:IMG_4966.JPG
File:IMG_4967.JPG
File:IMG_4984.JPG
File:IMG_4994.JPG
File:IMG_5005.JPG
File:IMG_5010.JPG
File:IMG_5016.JPG
File:IMG_5018.JPG
File:IMG_5030.JPG
</gallery>
</gallery>


(Photos: David Lê)


'''23.04.2021'''
Sample 1:
in the morning i had to remove some white mold and fed them with more oatflakes


<gallery>
Wearing clothes is always connected to a certain state of mind, and when wearing my Physarum clothes you should keep the following concepts in mind:  
File:23.4.21 gr.jpg
File:23.4.21.jpg
</gallery>


Sample 2:
we are connected to nature, but in a disgusting way; kate moss said: "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" but i say: "nothing feels as good as mold tastes"; walking until your feet bleed, but you will go insane if you don't do it; i share my breakfast of oatflakes with the slime mold that is growing in my room; post-sustainability, i will pick up my clothes from the streets and smear slime mold onto them; like Physarum we live in cycles; my clothes change and eventually will be destroed with me; we have bled through so many fabrics; biting into an apple and realizing it is full of maggots is like putting on clothes and realizing they started to mold, but this time we keep wearing them, we become a part of Physarum's world, we're not an important part in Physarum's world anymore, we're just living in it.


in the morning i had to remove some mold and fed them with more oat flakes


<gallery>
----
File:23.4. 1.jpg
File:23.4. 2.jpg
</gallery>




'''25.4.2021'''
'''finished pieces'''


<gallery>
<gallery>
File:254.1.jpg
File:20210707_115457.jpg
File:254.2.jpg
File:20210707_115511.jpg
File:254.3.jpg
File:20210708_130234.jpg
</gallery>
</gallery>




For the weekend i brought my three samples to my parents house in another city. To transport the Physarum safely in a train I repurposed the tool kit suitcase. It seems like the transportation and change of surrounding has not harmed the organisms. On the contrary, the Physarum is growing faster in the dark suitcase than in a shadowy place in my room.


'''26.4.2021'''
'''Impressions of the process:'''  


<gallery>
<gallery>
File:264.1.jpg
File:15..jpg
File:264.2.jpg
File:20210610_141731.jpg
File:20210610_141734.jpg
File:20210610_141741.jpg
File:20210610_153032.jpg
File:20210624_151800.jpg
File:20210624_151813.jpg
File:20210624_151828.jpg
File:20210630_124125.jpg
File:20210702_134251.jpg
</gallery>
</gallery>


The Physarum covers all of the petri-dish now. It is very bright and yellow.


'''How to create Physarum clothes:
'''


'''27.4.2021'''
Take a look at my [[/Experiments/]] to see how i learnt how to grow ''Physarum Poloycephalum''.  


<gallery>
I grow Physarum in a stable environment: a petri-dish and Agar Agar as a medium. To make the Physarum grow, I feed it with oat flakes once every day. After four to five days the Physarum will start growing out of the petri-dish. Or not - it is a living organism after all with its own moods and sometimes strange behaviours.  
File:274.1.jpg
After spilling out of the petri-dish it continues growing on plastic foil that i layed under the petri-dish. Or it dries out completly. Again, it is not possible to foresee exactly how it will behave. Sometimes it can be refreshed with some drops of water and continue growing on the plastic foil. Sometimes not, the experiment has failed and I need to prepare another petri-dish with agar.  
File:274.2.jpg
File:274.3.jpg
File:274.4.jpg
</gallery>
 
 
The Physarum is back in Weimar and this morning it grew out of the petri-dish. Time for a new environment. I prepared a cardbox with baking paper, cooked a lot of agar medium and filled the cardbox with that. I used agar from the supermarket and a cardbox is not a totally serile environment. Will the Physarum still grow?
I would love to imitate a small part of a forest, maybe inside of an aquarium where the Physarum can grow in an environment that is as natural as possible.
Interesting link:
https://www.geo.de/natur/naturwunder-erde/16036-rtkl-schlauer-pilz-dieser-schleimpilz-kann-sich-erinnern-und-raetsel
 
 
 
'''28.4.2021'''
 
[[File:28.4..jpg|400px]]
 
The Physarum is growing very fast in the improvised cardboard box environment. Even faster than in the petri dishes.
 
 
'''29.4.2021'''
 
<gallery>
File:28.4..jpg
File:29.4..jpg
File:29.4.jpg
</gallery>


If the Physarum continues to grow on the plastic foil, I lay this foil on the clothing piece I want to create with Physarum. Under the first layer of fabric has to be some aluminium foil so the Physarum stays put on one layer of fabric and does not grow on the back of the shirt.
This results in four layers:


'''30.4.2021'''
aluminium


i added coffee grounds and the Physarum seems to like it
fabric


<gallery>
Physarum
File:30.4..jpg
File:30.4.jpg
File:304.jpg
</gallery>


Plastic foil


'''1.5.2021'''
To press the Physarum into the clothes I used seven to nine books and a 5-kilo and a 1-kilo weight that I positioned on the plastic foil. It takes around a week to completley press the Physarum, after that it is dormant and the clothes can be stored and worn. The result looks a bit like batik.  


<gallery>
<gallery>
File:1.5..jpg
File:420210707_115457.jpg
File:15..jpg
</gallery>
 
the sample in the petri dishes startet to dry a bit


<gallery>
File:1.5..jpg
File:15..jpg
</gallery>
</gallery>


'''2.5.2021'''
[[File:2.5..jpg]]
'''3.5.2021'''


i added some potato peel to try out if the Physarum likes it but it has not been discovered yet
When the Physarum did not grow on the plastic foil and only spilled out of the petri-dish I manually put the Physarum on plastic foil and pressed it on the fabric in the same way I did before. The results are very different.


and i startet to grow a sample in the maze


<gallery>
<gallery>
File:3.5..jpg
File:274.1.jpg
File:3.5.jpg<gallery>
File:320210707_115511.jpg
 
 
'''7.5.2021'''
 
Reviving some semi-dried Physarum was successful:
 
<gallery>
File:105.jpg
File:regrowing.jpg
</gallery>
</gallery>
'''9.5.2021'''
starting to grow a lot of Physarum in a big environment, so i can test out different fabrics:
[[File:10.5..jpg]]
Project idea(s):
Inside and outside we are the same - Living in Physarums world




As a project i want to create an installation in which will picture similarities Physarum and humans share and how they can interact and coexist. A person and the Physarum will share a table, clothes and food. The person is sitting at a table, eating some oatmeal. The Physarum will be placed on the table. The person is eating oatmeal and will feed some of the oatfklakes to the Physarum from time to time. The love to oats is something Physarum Polycephalum and humans have in common.
For this installation i will create a piece of clothing that the Physarum is growing on. The person sitting at the table is wearing this clothing piece.


The installation shows how much the lives of Physarum and a person can be entangled and how they can closely exist together on very little space.
The fabric looks more stained and brown. And it took a long time to completely dry it. It did not dry completly under the weights, instead I air-dryed it after 5 days under the weights.


Following thechnical things will be necessary for the installtation:
'''How to wash Physarum clothes'''


Figuering out how to place the Physarum on the table: in a petri dish? Growing on the table? Etc.
Carefully scrape the dried Physarum off the clothing piece. Place the dried Physarum in a petri-dish with agar medium. Revive it with three to four drops of water and feed it with some oat flakes. Place it in a dark environment for optimal growth, feed it every day with oatflakes and lay a plastic foil under the petri-dish, so the Physarum can spill over onto the foil and can be reapplied on the clothing piece.  


Grwoing Physarum on fabric?
The clothing piece can be washed normally, when the Physarum is scraped off.
On which fabric will the Physarum grow?
Can the piece of clothing be worn without hurting the Physarum?
How long will the person have to sit on the table für the Physarum to "eat" some of the oaflakes?

Latest revision as of 16:36, 14 July 2021

INSIDE AND OUTSIDE WE ARE THE SAME

It's Physarum's world and we're just living in it

Kleidung.jpg

4957.JPG

Fashion is always a statement piece. No one will ever just wear something. Clothes will always express something: a lifestyle, an occupation, a state of mind. When a human chooses to wear clothes that have dormant slime mold on it, when a human has an organism living on its clothes, what does that say about the human? Is it disgusting? Is it to not feel alone? Would a human rather have the slime grow on its skin and the clothes are just the next possible option? The collection of clothing “Inside and outside we are the same” is not part of the fast fashion world. Neither is it part of the sustainable fashion world, which claims to be connected to nature. It is a different world: Physarum Polycephalum’s world. This world is usually deep in a forest, on rotten wood, slimy and smelling. When wearing Physarum Polycephalum clothes humans might become a part of this world. Humans are sharing their bodies with a living organism. Humans are connected to nature, and disconnected from the fast fashion world, humans are post-sustainable, environmentally conscious, but in a disgusting way.

Wearing Physarum Polycephalum clothes is nothing that should be done frivolously. After all it is a dormant - but living - organism on your clothes. While wearing Physarum Polycephalum clothes human will never be alone. Human will be accompanied by a single-cell slime mold. On the other hand, humans can never rely on Physarum Polycephalum to be suitable for a clothing piece: will it grow into the right direction? On the right foil? Will it keep growing or should it be applied onto the fabric immediately? It is alive and has its own will. Growing fast, slow or not at all. With the Physarum Polycephalum the clothes it lives on have cycles too. The Physarum Polycephalum can be removed and be regrown in a petri-dish. In the meantime the clothes can be washed. Then the organism can be reapplied onto the clothes. And every time this happens a new and unique clothing piece will be created, which is growing and changing with the slime mold.


(Photos: David Lê)


Wearing clothes is always connected to a certain state of mind, and when wearing my Physarum clothes you should keep the following concepts in mind:

we are connected to nature, but in a disgusting way; kate moss said: "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" but i say: "nothing feels as good as mold tastes"; walking until your feet bleed, but you will go insane if you don't do it; i share my breakfast of oatflakes with the slime mold that is growing in my room; post-sustainability, i will pick up my clothes from the streets and smear slime mold onto them; like Physarum we live in cycles; my clothes change and eventually will be destroed with me; we have bled through so many fabrics; biting into an apple and realizing it is full of maggots is like putting on clothes and realizing they started to mold, but this time we keep wearing them, we become a part of Physarum's world, we're not an important part in Physarum's world anymore, we're just living in it.




finished pieces


Impressions of the process:


How to create Physarum clothes:

Take a look at my Experiments to see how i learnt how to grow Physarum Poloycephalum.

I grow Physarum in a stable environment: a petri-dish and Agar Agar as a medium. To make the Physarum grow, I feed it with oat flakes once every day. After four to five days the Physarum will start growing out of the petri-dish. Or not - it is a living organism after all with its own moods and sometimes strange behaviours. After spilling out of the petri-dish it continues growing on plastic foil that i layed under the petri-dish. Or it dries out completly. Again, it is not possible to foresee exactly how it will behave. Sometimes it can be refreshed with some drops of water and continue growing on the plastic foil. Sometimes not, the experiment has failed and I need to prepare another petri-dish with agar.

If the Physarum continues to grow on the plastic foil, I lay this foil on the clothing piece I want to create with Physarum. Under the first layer of fabric has to be some aluminium foil so the Physarum stays put on one layer of fabric and does not grow on the back of the shirt. This results in four layers:

aluminium

fabric

Physarum

Plastic foil

To press the Physarum into the clothes I used seven to nine books and a 5-kilo and a 1-kilo weight that I positioned on the plastic foil. It takes around a week to completley press the Physarum, after that it is dormant and the clothes can be stored and worn. The result looks a bit like batik.


When the Physarum did not grow on the plastic foil and only spilled out of the petri-dish I manually put the Physarum on plastic foil and pressed it on the fabric in the same way I did before. The results are very different.



The fabric looks more stained and brown. And it took a long time to completely dry it. It did not dry completly under the weights, instead I air-dryed it after 5 days under the weights.

How to wash Physarum clothes

Carefully scrape the dried Physarum off the clothing piece. Place the dried Physarum in a petri-dish with agar medium. Revive it with three to four drops of water and feed it with some oat flakes. Place it in a dark environment for optimal growth, feed it every day with oatflakes and lay a plastic foil under the petri-dish, so the Physarum can spill over onto the foil and can be reapplied on the clothing piece.

The clothing piece can be washed normally, when the Physarum is scraped off.