Fragments of Fungi: Eliciting Dialogue Through a Virtual Experience

Both the arts, natural phenomena and technologies hold possibilities for profound emotional experiences. This interdisciplinary project explores the world of mycelium networks through an artistic virtual reality (VR) experience, as a medium to communicate the awe-inspiring natural phenomenon. The VR application was conceptualised and designed through various creative activities and participatory design workshops with external participants. The final VR experience Fragments of Fungi was brought into a physical forest setting in the north of Copenhagen, Denmark, and evaluated by four participants engaging in a two-hour collaborative workshop, including individual exercises and collective discussions. The findings suggests the potential of virtual reality as an awe-eliciting medium, and highlights the benefits of collective spaces for reflection and dialogue when presenting such self-contained and emotional experience inherent to virtual reality. Finally, the paper encourages VR artists to consider the holistic experience, rather than focusing solely on the VR aspect.