{Digital Storyteller}

/Fungi sapiens/

"Fungi sapiens" is an interactive installation that explores new forms of communication. In an era where technology is reshaping human interaction, I contemplate what communication might become in the future. What if it moves beyond the words and gestures we know?
/Why Fungi?/
Today, posthumanist theories predicting human-machine integration are popular. But what if humanity's path forward lies elsewhere? Fungi have existed on Earth for hundreds of millions of years, have survived all global catastrophes, and already form complex ecosystem networks resembling a nervous system. Recent paleontological findings suggest fungi may have existed as far back as 2 billion years ago, long before the emergence of multicellular organisms.

/What does the interactive installation explore?/
The installation invites us to consider what a new type of communication might be like if it is based not on language, but on biological and spatial signals. Interaction with the system occurs through:
  • Body position in space
  • Voice volume
  • Movements of the mouth and eyebrow muscles
Users place their heads inside mushroom caps, which become the interface for communication with an artificial intelligence. Through real-time interaction with the AI, participants influence a visualization displayed on large screens.

/How does the interaction work?/
By engaging with the neural network, the user controls the generation processes:
  • Input Signal – selects the visual stream (noise, video, 3D, patterns)
  • Prompt – describes the intelligent fungi being created by the AI
  • Generation Steps – controls the level of image detail
  • Noise Variation – alters the initial noise from which the AI constructs the image
/Interactive Tools/
  • TouchDesigner – for real-time visual programming of interactive content.
  • StreamDiffusion – for the real-time neurogeneration component.

/Neurogenerative Tools/
  • Luma – for image generation.
  • Kling – for video generation.

/Mushroom Cap Artist/
Elena Smolina, aka Lemosa

/Music Composer/
MycoLyco – creates electronic music based on changes in the electrical resistance of fungi.

/Acknowledgements/
A special thanks to the companies and people without whom this installation would not have been possible:
  • Natalya Seroshtanova and the team at the Sinara Foundation for Supporting and Realizing Cultural Initiatives – thank you for the invitation and your warm welcome. ❤️
  • Creater.pro (Oleg and Stella) – thank you for the technical implementation of my idea. 🔥
  • BSP – thank you for the construction. ✊
  • Video crew and Ekran – thank you for the brightness and reliable operation of the screens. ✨
  • The volunteers, and especially Olesya and Vik – thank you for your help and work with the audience. 🫶