Shape Shifters: Underground Networks

The Shape Shifter Series is inspired by mycorrhizal networks—vast underground webs of fungi that form symbiotic relationships with plants. Connecting the roots of trees and other plants, these networks facilitate the exchange of nutrients, water, and chemical signals across entire forest ecosystems around the globe. These underground living systems are critical to regulating climate by being one of the largest carbon sinks on the planet.

Rutstein drew inspiration from imaging research of mycorrhizal fungal networks conducted by scientists at AMOLF and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Their branching structures resemble neural networks, revealing striking parallels between biological forms across scales. Like the artist’s Brine Forest and Progenitor series, Shape Shifter II transforms hidden natural systems into a monumental visual experience, inviting viewers to consider the intricate networks that connect and sustain life beneath the Earth’s surface. Developed with research support from evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Inspired by imaging work of mycorrhizal fungal networks created by scientists from AMOLF and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Courtesy of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), a science-based initiative dedicated to mapping and protecting the mycorrhizal networks that regulate Earth’s climate and ecosystems. Learn more at www.spun.earth.