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An otherworldly cluster of mushrooms, connected by heavy coils of fibre-optic cables spooled through the trees, is waiting to cast its glow on Perth’s Kings Park.
The inner-city park and botanic garden is set to be illuminated by a sea of lights when the annual Lightscape event kicks off on Friday.
More than 50,000 kilometres of cables, optic fibres and lighting components will power the 18 light installations across the park as part of the immersive after-dark trail experience.
International artist Stevie Thompson has brought his Mycelium Network installation all the way from the UK, aiming to simulate “communication beneath the surface”.
“I’ve already done a lot of work for Culture Creative back home in the UK. I’ve done several of their UK sites [and] I always knew they’ve done some abroad in the US and in Australia. And who wouldn’t want to come and work out here in Australia?” Thompson said.
Thompson’s installation includes three main concepts; a colour changing cluster of mushrooms, the mycelium network and an animation of the mycelium, which he said represented the root structure of being alive and communicating.
Specialising in fibre optic lighting, Thompson said his inspiration for the design came from a personal experience.
“Leaving school I became an electrician, I did that for 14 years. I’d always been a fan of neon lighting and mood lighting and things like that,” he said.
“I’ve seen a starry ceiling once in a showroom created with fibre optics and I just fell in love with it and started buying materials and practising things.”
Thompson’s new installation was mainly fibre optic cables powered by LED projectors.
“The inspiration behind Mycelium Network occurred when I first applied for my first lighting festival. I was currently being assessed for ADHD, and I was busy researching natural remedies because I didn’t want to take medication if I did have it,” he said.
“I was busy reading up on mushrooms and the medicinal benefits of them for mental health and thought using fibre optics would be a great way to represent the mycelium network, which mushrooms have hidden beneath them underneath the ground.”
The set-up for Thompson’s installation typically takes between two and four days.
“It’s a lot of heavy labour, lifting big, 30-kilogram coils of fibres and dragging it up hills,” he said.
“It’s backbreaking, bending over and designing it all and putting it all down. And then obviously hundreds of mushrooms to put it in as well, which is very tiring on your knees all day.”
The UK artist joked that Kings Park being at the “top of a small mountain” didn’t help his struggles.
“I hadn’t prepared for my morning walk commute being a huge workout before even starting work installing,” he said.
Thompson hopes the mushroom-inspired artwork will inspire others to discover more about the wide world of fungi.
“I hope it gives guests a sense of calm and peace while watching the installation, but I hope it also sparks some interest into researching mushrooms themselves and seeing how useful they are to humanity and the planet,” he said.
Thompson leads the international artists partaking in the event, alongside artists from the Perth community.
The event runs from June 5 until July 26.
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