death shoes
bacterial cellulose, cherry wood
supervisor Ariel Lavian
photos by Lorenz Kunath
Jerusalem
2019
death is as natural as birth but it is celebrated a lot less. but just as death marks the end of an old life, the decay and decomposition that soon follow provide material for new life. decomposition isn’t just the end of everything. it’s also the start. without decay, none of us would exist.
one of the main decomposers of dead organic matter are fungi. they thrive on death and in the process make all life possible.
the main material used in this project is home-grown bacterial cellulose which is produced by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). it is the same culture that is used for brewing kombucha tea drink and is commonly know as "tea fungus" or "mushroom".