An Essay on the Multidisciplinary Project Organic Futures in Hidden Realms by Victoria King

Mycelium Necklace

The inspiration for this piece comes from fairy rings, which are rare, naturally occurring rings of mushrooms found in grass. Fungi produce a network of threads called mycelium, which spread outwards from a central point. These rings can continue to grow and expand over time, with the mushrooms appearing annually at the edge of the expanding ring. In folklore, these are thought to be the site of fairy gatherings, dances, or even portals to magical realms.

Victoria is part of a mushroom club, South London Mushroom Club. It’s an inclusive environment for those with a shared interest in all things fungi. With this knowledge and experience, she developed a method for growing mycelium forms using recycled paper and vacuum-formed moulds.




Rings

Jewellery is intrinsically made to relate to the body but is often not presented on the body. With this piece, Victoria wanted to show jewellery as it's meant to be seen, on the body. She imagined not just a body wearing jewellery, but the artist wearing their own work as a fully realised concept. A character that embodies the meaning and spirit of the piece. It becomes more than just an adornment. It becomes a wearable story.

To bring this vision to life, Victoria used photogrammetry, a process that uses photography to create 3D models. With the digital version of herself complete, she chose to pose the figure in an arabesque using Mixamo software, a ballet position that adds a sense of narrative and poise. The final pieces are rings of her wearing the mycelium necklace: one printed in clear resin and dyed with alcohol ink, and another piece which was printed in wax and cast in silver.



Victoria has also experimented with using this 3D file to print in other materials and has lost wax cast the ring into silver. Even though they are the same shape, printing it in a different material changes the ring completely. Resin and silver are such different materials. Materials can be used to tell stories in such different ways.



Augmented Reality

Hidden layers of information are a constant theme running through Victoria’s work. For this project, she has utilised augmented reality. Adobe Aero has been used to create an anchor-based AR experience. A QR code reveals a hidden realm, where Victoria is wearing the mycelium necklace amongst spores. This is accompanied by a soundscape composed by Eden Grey. Try scanning the QR code to reveal this part of the project.




What’s Next

Currently, Victoria is working on the next step of the project. Creating a new version of the necklace using a rare mushroom, Coral Tooth. This was found in South London and cultivated by members of the South London Mushroom Club.
 

About the author

Victoria King is a London-based jewelry designer. She's a graduate of The Cass in BA Silversmithing and Metalwork. She has curated and exhibited at 32 exhibitions nationally and internationally. She is part of both Dialogue Collective and Precious Collective. She is also a technician at Central Saint Martin's, metalwork, woodwork, and digital fabrication

victoriakinglondon@gmail.com
@victoriakinglondon