By STEPHEN HOBBS
Opening Saturday, 17th of August 2024, from 11:00 am – 14:00 pm
On 13 April 2024 Stephen Hobbs and Afrifungi’s Shiitake Mushroom log installation at the Blue House was launched with a public presentation and a serving of Lion’s mane and Oyster Mushrooms. Hobbs returns with a more fantastical take on the terraforming capabilities of fungus, speculation around their intergalactic travels, and their potential for reimaging our approach to the built environment. Hobbs’ new installation draws from his fascination with a super large fruiting mushroom species – Ganoderma destructans, a parasitic fungus attacking the root system and base of a Stinkwood tree close to his house in Linden and the presence of a second specimen clutching a Stinkwood tree diagonally opposite on the corresponding residential block. This new body of work incorporates living mediums such as mycelium and mushrooms into mixed media sculpture, complimented by a series of new drawings. For Hobbs the ongoing fascination with growing and designing ‘things’ with mycelium offers a complimentary and dynamic lens through which to critique Johannesburg’s intrinsic nature of collapsing and rebuilding.
Some notes from the artist:
- Boasting over 10 million trees Johannesburg vies for position of largest man-made forest in the world. (Google)
- Celtis Africana – white stinkwood with its pale grey smooth bark and ovate leaves, were widely planted as a shade tree in gardens, parks and along streets. (Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa. Struik, 1993)
- As the mycelial body of the Ganoderma destructans search of carbohydrates interlacing itself with the tissues and fibers of the stinkwood tree, the trunk and root system will likely disintegrate, and the trees will die.
- Special thanks to: Bronwyn Millar and her natural instincts for mushroom hunting and foraging, to Afrifungi for creative guidance and lab work and to David Krut and his team for enabling these enquiries on numerous levels.
About Stephen Hobbs
Hobbs has been collaborating with David Krut Projects and David Krut Workshop since 2009. David Krut Projects New York has produced a variety of Hobbs’talks, presentations and workshops in numerous universities and institutions throughout the USA.Stephen Hobbs, born in Johannesburg in 1972, is an artist whose work is profoundly influenced by Johannesburg’s transformation from an apartheid city to an African metropolis. His art examines how defensive urban planning and architecture impact societal behavior, using etching, linocut, and monotype techniques to reflect these themes. Hobbs often employs dazzle camouflage—historically used in early 20th-century warfare to disrupt visual recognition—as a metaphor for dystopian urban environments.
Hobbs has a rich background in curating and public art. He was the curator at the Market Theatre Galleries (1994-2000) and co-directed the Gallery Premises at the Joburg Theatre (2004-2008). Since 2001, he has co-directed The Trinity Session, a public art consultancy, alongside Marcus Neustetter, facilitating various public art projects in South Africa. From 2017-2019, Hobbs also served as a Unit Leader and resident critic at the Graduate School of Architecture, University of Johannesburg. His career reflects a deep engagement with the intersections of art, urban development and public space.
Related media:
Stephen Hobbs: Of man-made forests and the hidden work of fungi – By Lesego Chepape