Justyna Werbel Commission Artist Statement for Mydecine
Title: Vitae Funghi, Composition #1
22”x 30” ink, graphite on 140g premium archival paper
Colour inspiration from a variety of Fungi growing on islands and winding waterways of the Pacific Northwest
Mycology has been a longtime personal passion of mine. Growing up in communist Poland, foraging was a family activity and a long-standing tradition that has been part of the Polish culture for centuries. Currently, I am part of the Mycological Society of Toronto and have both attended and led several mushroom forages in Canada. So one can imagine when I was asked to develop a piece of artwork for Mydecine, how eager and ecstatic I was to accept the opportunity.
I am extremely excited about Medicine’s innovative approach to wellness, with the overarching goal of revolutionizing the way people live and experience life. By offering cutting-edge natural products and technologies for treating mental health, Mydecine’s work is more important than ever as we are experiencing an unprecedented time.
I have also recently become a fan of the book ‘Entangled Life’ How Fungi Make our worlds, Change our Minds & Shape our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake. This book shines a light on the hidden fungal connections that link everything together. I equally became dazzled by Sheldrake’s depth of information and his spectrum of interests. A biologist and a writer with a background in plant sciences, microbiology, ecology, and the history and philosophy of science not to mention dabbling in bioacoustic composition.
In my research, I also discovered that in 2020 Sheldrake collaborated with sound ecologist Micheal Prime using electrodes that detect the bioelectric activity of fungi: “All living organisms produce a faint electric current, which constantly fluctuates according to the state of the organism. A mushroom still connected to a growing mycelium produces a varied and interesting rhythm, while a mushroom that has been picked produces only a static tone” - Michael Prime.
As such, this varied and interesting rhythm accompanied by a light staccato piano is the sound selection I transcribed for this graphic notation. Sheldrake and Prime titled their collaborative composition: Pleurotus Fungus Devours Entangled Life, which is a comedic twist on the actual sound of the mycelium decomposing in one of Merlin Sheldrakes Books.
Mydecine says that they are inspired by the future, the innovators, the dreamers; Their products are built for those that aspire to be healthy physically and spiritually while living life to the fullest and daring to disrupt the norm. NEO Canada’s next-generation stock exchange also looks to the future and prides itself on doing things differently.
This work is a representation of all those components intertwined and drawn out in abstraction with a pencil and paper surrounded by fungi.