Meeting Merlin

I lived in Newcastle upon Tyne for several years and during that time I witnessed the building of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. I keep up to date with their virtual exhibitions and podcasts and recently came across a podcast entitled “For All I Care”, which explored the acts of care and reciprocity we see in plants, animals and minerals. I have been inspired by the work of Peter Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees) and Joan Maloof (The Living Forest) on the care and reciprocity witnessed by them in the world of trees and the underground fungal network.

Sponsored by the Wellcome Collection and The Baltic and presented by Nwando Ebizie, the podcast consisted of a five-part mini-series, reimagining care and healing through art, health and science; exploring what care means for our bodies, our communities, the planet and our futures.

Ebizie interviewed artists, scientists and health professionals who shared their findings with regard to worms, underwater insects, plants and minerals.

The most riveting of these interviews for me was the one with biologist Merlin Sheldrake, who has been eavesdropping on fungi and exploring my pet interest – the underground fungal network, looking at the world from the non-human perspective of the mycelium. The interview was all too short and ended on a wonderfully wacky note. On completion of his book “Entangled Life-How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures” Merlin decided to feed the text of his book to oyster mushrooms. Through a complex system of electrodes he recorded the sounds of the mushrooms as they devoured the text, page by page. The rhythm of the sounds was decidedly catchy and in response to these sounds Merlin and his brother Cosmo made a drumming tune which reflected the sounds, ending with Merlin singing the words ”Entangled Life!” It goes without saying that I immediately ordered his book and I am now wondering what to feed my own oyster mushrooms when they emerge from the spawn on the logs in my garden. All Hail Melvin!

Merlin’s book has arrived! More later . . . .