Shhh

2023, This permanent out door public art piece is at Metropolitan Park in Arlington, Virginia at Amazon’s HQ2 and is now part of the Arlington County Permanent Public Art collection.

Shhh is comprised of 36 3-d printed plastic debris sculptures, each with internal fiber optics that allow them to glow at night. The concept for Shhh was inspired by the Jack-O-Lantern mushroom, commonly found in the Virginia woodlands near Metropolitan Park. It is one of ~80 known bioluminescent mushrooms. The Jack-O-Lantern, like many bioluminescent mushrooms, only glows at certain stages of its development. Shhh integrates motion sensors that so that at night their internal lights subtly respond to movement. Their lights breath at the pace of a calm human breath, increasing softly in brightness when motion is detected. The filament for 3d printing these sculptures is made from post-industrial medical grade polyethylene terephthalate.

Each sculpture originated as either an actual mushroom that was found on a foray in nature, then  3d scanned, scaled up and modeled for printing - or from a hand sculpted object that was 3d scanned, scaled up and 3d modeled for printing.

SHHH SCULPTURES MAP | KEY

  1. Baby Fly Agaric, (Amanita Muscaria) Specimen found in NY

  2. Shrimp of the Woods, (Entoloma abrotivum)Specimen found in Prince William Forest, VA

  3. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by an electron micrograph of the conidia of an Aspergillus Tubengensis (*plastic degrading fungus)

  4. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Violet Coral Fungi (Clavaria zollingeri)

  5. Spring Polypores, (Neofavulus alveolaris), Specimen found in NY

  6. Turkey Tail Mushroom, (Trametes versicolor), Specimen found in Prince William Forest, VA

  7. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Wolf’s Milk Slime Mold (Lycolgala epidendrum)

  8. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Enoki Mushrooms (Flammulina filiformis)

  9. Butterfoot Bolete, (Boletus auripes), Specimen found in Prince William Forest, VA

  10. Fantasy Mushroom

  11. Freckled Dapperling, (Echinoderma asperum) Specimen found in sidewalk mulch on the streets in Arlington.

  12. Blackening Brittlegill, (Russula adusta) Specimen found in Prince William Forest, VA

  13. Fantasy Mushroom

  14. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Prototaxites (an extinct fungi that grew up to 25’ tall)

  15. Lion’s Mane, (Hericium erinaceus), Specimen cultivated in NY

  1. Mock Oyster, (Phyllotopsis nidulans) Specimen found in NY

  2. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by the Spiny Puffball (Lycoperdon echinatum)

  3. Penny Bun Mushroom, (Boletus Edulis) Specimen found in Prince William Forest, VA

  4. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Clubbed Coral Mushroom (Clavariadelphus Truncatus)

  5. Pink Sherbert Polypore, (Leptoporis mollis) Specimen found in Prince Willian Forest, VA

  6. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Slime Mold (Tichia decipens) Signed in MD

  7. Jack O Lantern Mushrooms (Omphalotus Illudens) Specimen found in NY

  8. Birch Polypore (Formitopsis betulina) Specimen found in Va

  9. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by mushroom twinning observations

  10. Blackfoot Polypore, (Picipes badius) Specimen found in VA

  11. Dead Man’s Fingers, (Xlaria polymorpha) Specimen found in Prince William Forest, VA

  12. Destroying Angel, (Amanita bisporigera) Specimen found in NY

  13. Honey Mushroom, (Armillaria mellea) Specimen found in NY

  14. Chicken of the Woods, (Laetiporus) Specimen found in NY

  15. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Golden Fairy Spindle Mushrooms (Clavulinopsis fusiformis)

  16. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Shaggy Ink Cap Mushrooms (Coprinus Comatus)

  17. Gem Studded Puffball, (Lycoperdon perlatum) Specimen found in NY

  1. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Green Elf Cup Fungus (Chlorociboria aeruginascens)

  2. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by Poison Fire Coral Fungus (Podostroma cornu-damae)

  3. Antler Reishi Mushroom, (Ganoderma lucidum) Cultivated in NY

  4. Fantasy Mushroom, Inspired by the stem of a Lacarria Mushroom

PROCESS

Please check back soon for more information about the groundbreaking innovative process.

Collaborators, Contributors + Sponsors

A very special thanks to these individuals without whom this piece would not have been possible: Marshall Coles, Robie Driscoll, Coles Driscoll, Kevin Graham, Thilina and the Deep3d Team, Jeremiah Teipen, Luke Sarrantonio, Benjamin Siegel, Kevin Alvarado, Laurie Roberts Conklin and Pat Conklin, Hoang Van, Amnon Hamami, Musa Najamuddin, Meridith McKinley, Peta Black, Fabian Sanin, Aliza Schiff, Jacob Gendelman, Matt Pierson, Stephanie Fallone, Josh Leslierandal, Ronan Hays, Sophia Zapata, Milo Shaw-Smith Gendelman, Angela Giunta, Louis-Phillippe Dugré-Thibaudeau, Karine Alger, Buzz Baldwin, Jimmy Carrere, Emma Fulkerson, Rich Silberfeld, Mitch Davis, Ronguo, Chris Jackson, Michael Zhao, Jonathan Brunelle, Michael Barnhart, Michael Calloway, Gilbert Scriba and Jacob Butler.