Kin Recognition
Nick Jordan
Parasol fungi spore prints on cotton rag paper, tape, oak frames, 2023
Installation view, Natural Interaction, HOME, Manchester, 2023

from Natural Interaction exhibition guide:

These prints are made from the spores of parasol mushrooms, foraged by the artist whilst filming The Entangled Forest. The spore prints are created by placing the mushrooms, gill-side down, onto paper. Releasing millions of spores over several hours, the mushrooms leave an impression of white spores on the paper. Jordan has then scanned the spore prints and produced limited edition giclée prints. Linking with the exhibition themes of genetics and mutual support networks, the prints are presented as a family tree. Kin recognition, also called kin detection, is an organism's ability to recognize and cooperate with genetically close relatives, and is a behaviour observed in plant and fungi interactions.