Honey Fungus is a sci-fi Virtual Reality installation that invites audiences to expand their sensory connection to the greater ecosystem. A sentient ecological presence—manifested as a queer omnipresent mycelial entity—guides participants on a journey through an entangled ecology.
Through a series of interactive vignettes inspired by the fungal reproductive cycle, users are invited to shape and transform the virtual environment. As they progress, they encounter spores that speak in poetic passages generated by AI, trained on a unique blend of Smithsonian field research and amateur erotica. In these spaces, the scientific merges with the sensual, unveiling the earth’s erotic potential and opening new possibilities for ecological stewardship and mutual care between human and non-human life.
This VR world embraces the idea that each of us possesses more than a singular, isolated body. As scholar Daisy Hildyard suggests, we have a 'second body'—one that exists through our interconnectedness with the world around us.
World Premiere at SXSW 2025
Producer
Alex Darby, Hybrid.Studio
VR Production
Pariah Interactive
Audio
Reading: Helga Hansen Logan
Sound Design: Frank Sweeney
Vocals: Anna Roberts-Gevalt
Mixing Engineer: Daniel Neumann
Supported by
The Arts Council of Ireland / An Chomhairle Ealaíon
Stevens Institute School of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences
Science Sandbox - Simons Foundation
NEW INC - New Museum
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
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Exhibititions:
Museums
Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
VISUAL Carlow Museum
William Benton Museum of Art
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech
Galleries & Popups
HESSE FLATOW at EXPO Chicago
Neuromantics UAAD
Plexus Projects, Brooklyn
Bolivar Gallery, Lexington
Urban Soil Institute LMCC Arts Center
New Lab X New Museum
Film Festivals
SXSW XR, Austin, Texas, World Premiere
Poppy Jaspar International Film Festival, California, Official Selection
New Media Festival, Los Angeles
Maryland Film Festival, Baltimore, Official Selection
VR FEST MX, Mexico, Official Selection
Miami Basel Art Tech Summit, Official Selection
Open World Animation Festival, PA, Official Selection
Ji.Hlava International Documentary Film Festival, Chez Republic
MYCO Film Festival
Festival RealMix 0.2, Instituto Distrital de las Artes, Bogota
InScience Film Festival, Amsterdam, Official Selection
Digital Arts Zurich, Finalist
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Through a series of interactive vignettes inspired by the fungal reproductive cycle, users are invited to shape and transform the virtual environment. As they progress, they encounter spores that speak in poetic passages generated by AI, trained on a unique blend of Smithsonian field research and amateur erotica. In these spaces, the scientific merges with the sensual, unveiling the earth’s erotic potential and opening new possibilities for ecological stewardship and mutual care between human and non-human life.
This VR world embraces the idea that each of us possesses more than a singular, isolated body. As scholar Daisy Hildyard suggests, we have a 'second body'—one that exists through our interconnectedness with the world around us.
World Premiere at SXSW 2025
Producer
Alex Darby, Hybrid.Studio
VR Production
Pariah Interactive
Audio
Reading: Helga Hansen Logan
Sound Design: Frank Sweeney
Vocals: Anna Roberts-Gevalt
Mixing Engineer: Daniel Neumann
Supported by
The Arts Council of Ireland / An Chomhairle Ealaíon
Stevens Institute School of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences
Science Sandbox - Simons Foundation
NEW INC - New Museum
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Exhibititions:
Museums
Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
VISUAL Carlow Museum
William Benton Museum of Art
Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech
Galleries & Popups
HESSE FLATOW at EXPO Chicago
Neuromantics UAAD
Plexus Projects, Brooklyn
Bolivar Gallery, Lexington
Urban Soil Institute LMCC Arts Center
New Lab X New Museum
Film Festivals
SXSW XR, Austin, Texas, World Premiere
Poppy Jaspar International Film Festival, California, Official Selection
New Media Festival, Los Angeles
Maryland Film Festival, Baltimore, Official Selection
VR FEST MX, Mexico, Official Selection
Miami Basel Art Tech Summit, Official Selection
Open World Animation Festival, PA, Official Selection
Ji.Hlava International Documentary Film Festival, Chez Republic
MYCO Film Festival
Festival RealMix 0.2, Instituto Distrital de las Artes, Bogota
InScience Film Festival, Amsterdam, Official Selection
Digital Arts Zurich, Finalist
2D Extract of VR Experience
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