About the project

Fungal Galaxies is a bio-art project that stands both as a visual manifesto of biodiversity and an invitation to look closer and reflect on the often-invisible life that surrounds us. This project is a personal journey into the process of biodiscovery, unveiling the world of endophytic filamentous fungi that live inside plants as silent companions, from roots to seeds. Born from the quiet moments between scientific research and observation, a slow-pace unfolding of microbial expression has shaped the idea of a microbiologist to celebrate these life forms from new perspectives, breaking through the walls of the laboratory and the scientific community.

This work is a call to attention for fungi, generally speaking, and for the way we relate to them. Ancient partners in our shared story, across cultures and generations, fungi have shaped traditions, supported economies and agriculture, inspired medicines, and nourished spiritual journeys. Yet, moulds, the very life forms celebrated here, are still so often met with fear, neglect, or aversion.

Fungal Galaxies offers the opportunity to pause and reconsider this relationship, inviting all of us to see beyond the surface, to shift our gaze from repulsion to awe, inspiration and curiosity. This project aims to be a quiet act of collective entanglement and an immersive experience to open and reconnect with a world that is both alien and familiar, mysterious and essential.

We cannot imagine a future without fungi, as they continue to offer revolutionary solutions for sustainable goals, from biomaterials to food packaging, alternative meats, and even construction. But there is still so much to understand about this Kingdom, which remains largely hidden in plain sight. Based on the most recent estimates, we might have formally described only about 1–7% of the estimated fungal species around the globe. 

This vast network of life remains unnamed, unstudied, and visually undocumented. Beauty, meaning, and potential can reside in places we least expect.

Shall we leave it in the dark or choose to pay attention?

Copyright ©Diego Dylan Bianchi

Copyright ©Diego Dylan Bianchi

Copyright ©Diego Dylan Bianchi