The College of Arts and Creative Enterprises (CACE) at Zayed University, presents: Mycelia: Earthly Essence of Existence, by student artist Shaikha Alhanaee, at the CACE female promenade gallery on the Abu Dhabi Campus. The exhibition will run from the 10th to the 28th of September, 2024 with the opening event scheduled for the 10th of September at 13:00.

During the Renaissance, mushrooms were depicted as symbols of humility and the earthly essence of being, emphasizing their organic origins. This symbolism was further enhanced by the fact that mushrooms grow from decaying organic matter, often in dark and damp environments. They represented the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth.

In conversation with contemporary artists such as Hamish Pearch and Alberto di Fabio, who explore themes of biodiversity and humanity's complex relationship with nature, Shaikha Alhanaee’s works investigate fungi's impact on ecosystems and their symbiotic relevance to humans. Through a mixed-media installation, her creative research concerns how fungi adapt to human interactions and foster new understandings of their behavior. The artworks, inspired by fungi's function and environment, challenge the traditional notion that fungi solely symbolize death, birth, and rebirth. Instead, they propose that fungi play a crucial role in the evolution of human life, metaphorically reflecting the essence of humility and existence.

The installation features 2D works and column sculptures made of real fungus, clay mushrooms, and additional mushrooms crafted from cardboard, all molded from a collection of photos. By examining the vast kingdom of fungi—shaped by millions of years of evolution—this creative based research reframes fungi not as mere decomposers but as a complex, evolutionarily diverse communication network, profoundly interconnected with human life.