Capturing the Unseen: Decoding Air Quality Through Fungi Sheets

How does an artist, armed with a backpack and fungi, understand the quality of our air? In this artist walk-and-talk around Cubbon park, Ana Laura Cantera shared insights from her art practice! In accompanying her, participants got a behind-the-scenes look into her process of creating the exhibit Territorial Inhalations, displayed at Science Gallery Bengaluru's CARBON exhibition.

Diving into the technicalities behind capturing smog and suspended gases in the air, using extractors and biomaterials, participants immersed themselves in an exploration of the air we breathe, the unseen pollutants that surround us, and the profound impact of our carbon footprint.

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About the Artist

Ana Laura Cantera is a transmedia artist, researcher and professor. She works at the intersection of art, technology, science, and sustainability from a decolonial perspective. She is currently a PhD candidate in Arts and Techno-aesthetics and has a Master's degree in Electronic Arts at National University of Tres de Febrero, a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts and a degree as Art Teacher at University of Arts (UNA).

Cantera is a developer and creator of biomaterials, specialising in designs grown from mushroom mycelium and in bio-based materials made with local waste. Recently, she received the First Prize Itaú in the Robotic Arts category and the Global Community Bio Fellows fellowship at MIT. She also leads research projects linked to bio-interactivity and 3D bio-printing. She has exhibited her artworks in exhibitions and festivals across the world.