Leninus fungalis Project
Context
Lenin was a mushroom (Russian: Ленин - гриб) is a popular mystification created by Soviet musician Sergey Kuryokhin and reporter Sergey Sholokhov. It was broadcast first on 17 May 1991 on Leningrad Television. The programme took the form of an interview in which supposedly scientific findings about the mushroom-like nature of Vladimir Lenin were presented.
The intention of the broadcast was, on the one hand, to desecrate and ridicule the sacred image of Lenin and communism itself, and, on the other, to create a satire on the pseudoscientific television programmes that were popular in the Soviet Union. The program was created shortly before the Soviet Union collapse, during the glasnost period, when many previously inaccessible documents and facts about Soviet history became public. At the time, television was widely perceived in Soviet Union as a trusted source of information, and many viewers actually believed the claim that Lenin was a mushroom. Soviet journalist Alexander Kushnir even stated that Sergey Kuryokhin had "destroyed Soviet Union" with this epochal mediavirus.[1]
Here are the links to english subtitled versions of the programme.
Concept
For me, Lenin was a mushroom is both a postmodern work of art and an early internet meme — a mediavirus that was still popular during my teenage years. More than 30 years after its creation, I decided to recreate the mushroom in the form of Lenin's face, using the facilities of the Bauhaus Bio Lab.
The project is also an attempt to move the story of "Lenin was a mushroom" to another level of absurdity — from postmodernism towards a metamodern perspective. Through the creation of leninus fungalis, I aim to continue the deconstruction of Lenin’s image, transforming a figure once treated as a heroic symbol into a media hoax and, finally, into a physical object — a mushroom.
I also questioned what form the mushroom sculpture should take: a small figure of Lenin’s entire body or a single body part. I wanted the sculpture to be recognisable enough for visitors to immediately identify Lenin. A miniature full-body figure felt too kitschy and would have made the sculpture appear obviously artificial. A head with recognisable facial features, on the other hand, seemed like a more promising approach. Its near life-size scale could create a sense of uncanniness, making the familiar face appear in an unexpected material and context. A full-size sculpture might have produced a similar effect, but I was unsure whether I had the experience to realise it. It would also have required considerably more time and resources.
Process
The whole process was curated by Alessandro Volpato. For the project were used the Mushroom Bootcamp resources.
The main challenge was to tame the natural growth of mushrooms and guide it towards a specific sculptural form: the recognisable head of Lenin. It remained uncertain until the very end, how accurately the mushrooms would reproduce his facial features. Unlike conventional sculptural materials, the mushrooms could not simply be shaped at will.
At the same time, I was drawn to this unpredictability. It introduced another element of absurdity into the project: the possibility of literally growing a mushroom that resembled Lenin's face.
Planting mushrooms in petri dishes
Using agar-agar, distilled water and malt extract powder, I first planted Reishi mushrooms in petri dishes on 24th of April. However, while monitoring the cultures, we noticed traces of mites. After examining the samples under a microscope, we realised that the Bio Lab was experiencing a mite infestation. The petri dishes became infected and couldn't be used.
So, on 11th of May I planted a new set of Reishi mushrooms in petri dishes.
Planting mushrooms in grain jars
After one week, the cultures were ready to be transferred into rye grain jars. Those provided the mycelium with a larger environment in which to grow.
On 18th of May I prepared the rye grain jars, added mycelium of Reishi and Fomes mushrooms, as there were Fomes petri dishes left from the other student's project. Finally, I had 9 jars: 3 with Reishi, 6 with Fomes.
Planting mushrooms in substrate bags
On 1st of June, after 2 weeks, I received an email from Alessandro Volpato that mushroom cultures were ready to be propagated. However, I wasn't in Weimar, so I started preparing the substrate bags and replanting the mushrooms only on 9th of June.
By the time I returned, the mycelium had spread throughout the rye grain. The jars contained a substantial amount of white mycelium, which appeared healthy and provided enough material for the next stage of cultivation.
Preparing negative forms of Lenin face
To prepare negative form of Lenin face, I first found a 3D model of Lenin’s head online and used it as the basis for the physical model. I milled the head from PU modelling board, creating the positive that would later serve as the master for the mould.
I then brought the positive to the plastic workshop, where we used a vacuum former to produce plastic negative moulds. The main difficulty was the ears: because of their shape, the vacuum-formed plastic held onto the positive quite tightly, making it difficult to remove the original model from the mould. Some of the negative moulds developed cracks, which I subsequently sealed with duct tape.
Planting mushrooms in negatives
On the 19th of June, the mushrooms appeared ready, but since the negatives were still being prepared, I needed more time before transferring them. I stored the bags with the mushrooms in a cool place — my artistic atelier.
On the 23rd of June, I transferred the mushrooms into the negative moulds and wrapped them in kitchen cling film. It was also useful to place a layer of kitchen wrap underneath the mushrooms, as this made it easier to remove them from the moulds later.
I checked the mushrooms every day as they continued to grow. Interestingly, they developed differently in each mould. As Alessandro observed, one of the forms seemed to stay more compact and could potentially be removed as a whole, while another appeared more fragile and prone to crumbling. Following his suggestion, I decided to remove the more compact part first and observe what would happen.
On the 3rd of July, one of the front parts of the 'head' appeared ready. On the 6th of July, we removed it from the mould and left it to dry.
For the remaining parts, we tried transferring the mushrooms into fresh rye in an attempt to continue their growth. However, they did not develop further before the exhibition. The reasons for the different growth patterns — and the factors that allowed one part to develop successfully while the others failed to continue growing — remain open questions for further investigation.
Drying: fabrication of the object
As the front part of the 'head' was glued together, I could dry it, using the oven and letting it rest there overnight.
Drying marked the transition from a growing biological material to a more stable sculptural object. Now I could exhibit it outside of the mould. When I finally saw the dried piece, I was pleased to discover that the facial features remained recognisable. Despite the unpredictability of the growing process, the mushroom had retained enough of Lenin's likeness for the object to be identified as his face.
Exhibition of the object
Leninus fungalis was presented as part of SUMMAERY, the annual summer semester exhibition at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. The work was shown within “EMZ Delivery,” an exhibition by the class “Experimental Drawing and Painting,” led by Professor Jana Gunstheimer.
The exhibition context was an important part of the work, as it is with in every installation. I considered three possible approaches to presenting the object. The first was to display it as a laboratory specimen, surrounded by a clean, white environment that would emphasise the experimental nature of Leninus fungalis. The second was to refer to Lenin's monumental by placing the head inside a large sarcophagus, continuing to play with the idea of reservation of communist ideals in post-Soviet countries. The third was to present it as a mushroom in its natural environment.
I ultimately chose the third approach. I placed the object directly on the floor, surrounded by the growing substrate, as if it were an ordinary mushroom emerging from the ground. I wanted to create the impression that the face was growing out of the earth and looking back at the viewer.
This presentation was intended to add to the level of absurdity and make the viewer to question what is happening: first noticing something unusual growing out of the floor, then associating it with a mushroom, subsequently recognising a human face, and finally identifying Lenin. This parallel with real mushrooms was meant to make viewers, unfamiliar with the context, question what was happening and then approach the video projected on the wall for an explanation.
The video I chose to accompany the object was a short video excerpt from the original broadcast of “Lenin was a mushroom,” featuring Sergey Kuryokhin repeating the famous statement. I decided to include it mainly because this broadcast is not as well known in Europe as it is in Russia. I wanted to create a shared cultural background. I also decided to use projection rather than a TV or tablet, as I wanted the video to have no defined temporal or spatial boundaries.
Placing Lenin's face on the floor also introduced a contrast with the monumental tradition of representing him. Rather than appearing as a statue elevated above the viewer, his face emerged from the ground as something organic and almost accidental. Through the positioning of the object Lenin's monumental historical figure became literally down-to-earth.
Results
Leninus Fungalis successfully demonstrated that mushrooms could be grown into a sculptural form with recognisable facial features. Despite the unpredictable growth process, the resulting material retained enough of Lenin's likeness for the face to be identifiable. However, after the exhibition, many visitors told me that they had only realised it was a mushroom after reading the programme. Perhaps people are more accustomed to thinking of mushrooms in terms of their shape rather than their materiality.
The object's structure is dry, and the substrate is visible. The facial features are clear and Lenin is recognisable, although the resemblance is still rather approximate. It was not possible to assemble the entire head, as the back of the head had not finished growing by the time of the exhibition. This did not compromise the installation, but leaves room for further experimentation.
Discussion
I consider this project a success. During the EMZ Delivery exhibition, I received very enthusiastic feedback from visitors about the work. I would like to continue investigating both its artistic and technical aspects.
From an artistic perspective, I think the initial concept of absurdity was achieved in the final installation on several levels. First, through the form itself, in which the mushroom essentially takes the shape of Lenin's face. Second, through the positioning of the object. Third, through the decomposition of his image.
There are a few things I would change in a future iteration. I would like to establish a stronger visual connection to the mushroom through its form, rather than relying on materiality alone, so that viewers would be more likely to associate the object with a mushroom. Another possibility would be to make the face larger to achieve a more accurate likeness. I would also consider changing the exhibition environment: instead of grey walls, I could present the object in a white-cube setting or move it entirely outdoors, into a natural environment.
There are also several technical aspects I would like to improve. First, I would like to explore the optimal conditions for growing mushrooms by experimenting with different forms, temperatures, and other environmental factors. Second, I would like to further explore the sculptural possibilities of fungi by experimenting with larger and more complex forms, possibly eventually attempting to create a full-size human sculpture. Third, I would like to experiment with joining the moulds more effectively and to study the properties of fungi in greater depth, potentially exploring the possibility of growing and exhibiting them on trees.
Conclusion
Leninus fungalis began as an experiment in growing a recognisable sculptural form from mushrooms and developed into an exploration of absurdity through materiality, form, and exhibition context. The experiment demonstrated that mushrooms could be used to create a recognisable image of human faces, specifically Lenin, although the growth process remained unpredictable and the final object was incomplete.
Leninus fungalis, by decomposing Lenin's image, also decomposes the broadcast "Lenin was a mushroom" itself. Reflecting on the approaches of Moscow Conceptualist art in the 1990s and its ways of dealing with the sacredness of communism, I explore how the problematic past of the Soviet Union continues to affect the present of Russia, making people repeatedly reflect on the mistakes of the past in the post-Soviet period. The original broadcast aimed to deconstruct and challenge the sacred image of communist leaders in people's eyes through absurdity. Leninus fungalis, however, makes the absurd statement true in a way, raising the level of absurdity even higher. If there is a mushroom that is Lenin, how does that make you feel?
The project leaves room for further experimentation with the growth process, sculptural form, and exhibition context. Ultimately, it brings together the absurdity of the original broadcast and the material reality of a mushroom resembling Lenin, leaving the viewer to consider what happens when an absurd statement becomes, at least partially, true.
I would like to acknowledge the support of Alessandro Volpato, head of the BioLab, whose expertise and guidance in working with the facilities of the BioLab were essential to making this project possible.