Material: Mushroom

Contemporary Art and Ecological Explorations (Production Workshop for Artists)

“Material: Mushroom”

Facilitator: Nergiz Yeşil

Dates: August 25 - 28, 2025

Time: 19:00 - 21:00

Mushrooms, neither plants nor animals, constitute a kingdom of their own, categorized into macro (e.g., cap mushrooms) and micro (e.g., yeasts) fungi. The “scoby” in kombucha is a living form created by the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, resembling a vinegar mother. This bacteria-yeast culture, developed through tea, sugar, and time, is a living organism. Beyond producing a fermented drink, scoby has emerged in the field of art and design as a nature-compatible, biodegradable biomaterial. Grown through patience, care, and collaboration, scoby represents a living and fluid form of production.

In this workshop, we will learn the basic steps of scoby production and explore how it can be transformed into an alternative material for artistic practices. But our focus is not only technical. Inspired by material choice, the workshop will open discussions around ethical and ecological approaches to foraging, the use of scarce resources, and biological production practices.

We will consider scoby not only as a material but also as a conceptual collaborator. Partnerships with autonomous microorganisms offer a co-creative approach. In this context, we will reflect on non-anthropocentric modes of making, non-hierarchical relations with nature, and potential collaborations with living organisms in cultural production.

Participants will be invited to share and discuss their own processes such as producing organic materials, building collections, and foraging. Together, we will cultivate a collective space for thinking and making.

Nergiz Yeşil (Istanbul, 1988) is an artist born in Istanbul. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Sculpture Department. During her graduate studies, she also continued her artistic practice at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in Belgium. Her academic thesis was titled "The Use of Biological Material in Artworks."

Yeşil’s practice lies at the intersection of ecology, biotechnology, and art, focusing on scarce resource usage, upcycling, and speculative species proposals. Her work, centered on epistemological critique, rethinks the relationship between humans and nature at both material and narrative levels. She creates using eco-friendly materials such as kombucha scoby, mycelium, bone, animal hair, and found objects—materials she either produces or collects. Her work prioritizes sustainable methods based on collaboration with nature.

She develops projects related to zero-waste nutrition, organic waste transformation, and ecological living practices. Alongside her art, she also facilitates workshops and creates models of economic and creative solidarity, especially with marginalized communities.

Through speculative species and collaborations with microorganisms, her work investigates the anti-hierarchical potentials of co-creating with nature. She establishes a speculative space for interspecies solidarity and partnership models, advocating for a non-anthropocentric perspective. Through narrative, objects, documentation, and biological materials, she proposes a new ecological sensitivity and ethical inquiry.

Her selected exhibitions include Müstesna Kadavra (2020, Galeri Nev Istanbul), Paleontology Museum (2019, Pg Art Gallery, Istanbul), Green Mold (2019, Mixer, Istanbul), Manifold M.I.I. (2019, London), Bang.Art Innovation Prix (2019, Studio-X Istanbul), and Freak Shop (2018, Collectiv National, Antwerp). She has received several awards, including the Sabancı Art Awards. She currently lives and works in Istanbul.

* This workshop is open to participants who work with or are interested in developing an artistic practice involving fungi. Regular attendance throughout the four-day program is expected. Participation is free of charge and limited to 15 people.

* To apply, please fill out the preliminary application form using the "Register" button on the page. Registration will open one week prior to the first session (from August 18, 2025, at 19:00), and the "Register" button will become active from that date. During the application process, you are expected to submit a message (minimum 50 words) describing your artistic practice, your relationship with material, and your motivation for joining the workshop. Applications will be evaluated to ensure a balanced participant profile, and selected participants will receive an invitation via email.

Workshop Schedule

- Monday, August 25, 2025 / 19:00 - 21:00 / On Production and Material (Online)
The artist will share her own production practices and material exploration processes. We’ll reflect on her interpretation of the theme of fungi and explore her forms of artistic expression through a personal lens.

- Tuesday, August 26, 2025 / 19:00 - 21:00 / Participants’ Concepts and Production Process (Online)
After learning about the materials participants are interested in, this session will involve short presentations focusing on their goals for the workshop and how they envision working with organic material.

- Wednesday, August 27, 2025 / 19:00 - 21:00 / Possibilities of the Material (Online)

We will discuss how artists from different disciplines use materials in innovative and sustainable ways. The session will examine mushrooms as artistic and political tools through various perspectives and examples.

- Thursday, August 28, 2025 / 19:00 - 21:00 / On Display Practices (Online)

In this closing session, we will come together to discuss the display and presentation techniques for works created or envisioned using mushrooms. The workshop will conclude with this final meeting.