Wood, rope, beeswax and Reishi mycelium
(Australian native Ganoderma steyaertanum).
30 x 42 cm
Fungal mycelium is a prolific material metaphor in my art practice, as a poetic allegory of interconnection, as well as a tangible growing material in my studio. Usually hidden from sight underground, the webbed networks of mycelium in soil connect tree roots, sharing water, nutrients, sugar, and sending electrical signals to communicate. When walking slowly and mindfully, I imaginatively feel into the mycelium under my feet, with each step, gradually reaching into deeper understandings about being inextricably entangled within the growth, death and renewal cycles of life. I conjure these felt connections when drawing, visualising the mycelium underground. Each stage is meditative, extending from within the body and mind, out into the world, moving from the intimate into larger cycles of impermanence, compassion and interconnection. In my studio, I co-create with mycelium in playful experiments. By combining different found materials, then watching the mycelium feel its way – growing over and into the assemblage – forming inter-species relationships. When working with Reishi (Ganoderma steyaertanum) nicknamed the ‘Zen mushroom’, I connect with the history of growing, harvesting and drinking this mushroom, as a traditional medicinal tea to calm the mind and revitalise the body. This resonates with my Buddhist mindfulness practices and can be sensed in the quiet energy and intriguing tactility of these works; drawing the viewer into feeling more interconnected with their surroundings and the lively matter-flows of the Earth.
Holding (mycelium) - Kath Fries
Please note that purchased artworks must be collected from Quantum Brewery, Moruya, at 5:00 pm on 12 July 2026.
If you are unable to attend the collection time, please contact:
• Annette Kennewell (future@fungifeastival.com.au) for South Coast collection
• Kath Fries (kathfries@gmail.com) for Sydney collection
• Josie Cosgrove (dreampieces.info@gmail.com) for Canberra collectionKath Fries is an artist living in Sydney on Gadigal Wangal Land. She works with sculpture, installation and drawing, to develop poetic sensory encounters with natural and found materials. These works often have playful elements and unexpected outcomes, at other times they conjure contemplative reflections. Aiming to evoke different perspectives about our ecological entanglements and interdependencies, Kath’s work quietly disrupts ingrained assumptions of human dominance and disconnection. Over the last ten years Kath’s practice has been focused on fungi: from foraying and foraging, to researching and learning about this kingdom of life, to developing fungi walking meditations, drawing complex mycelial networks, and growing sculptures with mycelium in her studio.
Kath has a PhD from Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney for her practice-led research ‘Touching Impermanence’. She has been awarded grants from Creative Australia, Ian Potter Cultural Trust, University of Sydney and Create NSW. Fries won the 2017 North Sydney Art Prize Sculpture Award and the 2010 Japan Foundation New Artist Award. Fries exhibits widely and has participated in artist-in-residence programs in Australia and internationally. She is a member of the international Mycelial Space Network. Alongside her active art practice, Fries also works as an independent curator, mentor and sessional lecturer.
@kath_fries