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
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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 NeumannContributing Writer: Sue Huang
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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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 NeumannContributing Writer: Sue Huang
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
2D Extract of VR Experience
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