Substrate Fantasia is a speculative fabulation of a substrate-centered world called Substratocene in 2180, a transitional era between current Anthropocene towards an ecological utopia. The shared goal in Substratocene is to redefine material as substrate for fungi to live on, increase biodiversity and co-evolve with fungi.

There are three levels of fabulations in this project:

I. Substratization Labs: world-wide material labs that put their endeavor in transitioning anthropocentric materials to become habitable for fungi. The lab sets the ground for human-fungi co-living experience through different geographical regions and cultures. The possibility of living materials also leads to new multi-sensory experiences and interactions between human and materials.

II. Nurseries and Lifestyle Change: living nature of materials in Substratocene redefines human habitats by welcoming fungi into the space. Long term maintenance relationship is built between human and fungi through daily routine of care, spore collection and cultivation.

III. Social Exchange and Bio-heritage: physical interactions among humans and built environment thus become sporing events. Through touches, fungi spores can be transported and exchanged, allowing exponential increase in fungi mating and mutation possibilities. This leads to generational passing down of bio-heritage and co-evolution.

Through the lens of multi-species theories and eco-feminism, this work join the cross-fields critique on Anthropocene, especially the critique on current Neoclassical Economic Model: its impacts of making assets of lives, both humans and nonhumans, ignorance of the entangled facts of multispecies living and failures in recognizing humans as part of larger ecological assemblage. As a designer, I advocate research and design recognizing multispecies biosphere, and embrace the beauty of indeterminacy and multidirectional futures. Substrate Fantasia relooks at the definition of "progress" and makes fungi lives and biodiversity the goal for humans. This redefinition proposes future experience that enabling cultural and genetic co-evolution with non-human others as companions.

The evolving design trend with Active Matters and proposal of Material Ecologies also set the ground and shed lights on a possible world of Substratocene. A generational, sustainable, life-centered model of production and lifestyle could be painted. These emerging ideas had led to rigorous lab experiments that discovered the possibility of fabric that is both livable for fungi but also wearable for humans.

THOUGHT AND RESEARCH EXPERIMENTS

"Making worlds is not limited to humans…humans shape multi species worlds when our living arrangements make room for other species."
–Anna Tsing, The Mushroom at the End of the World, p22

Indeed, the original, natural growth path of these other living beings becomes surprisingly unfamiliar and unexpected in human occupied spaces. The realization of the constructed urgency of shaping the cityscape and expanding desire to own an increasing number of new products sparks the even more urgent question of how to co-habit and co-create with other living beings that humans share the same biosphere with. Exciting questions arose during my thought experiments: What are the new definitions of design, making, material, process and result? How can designers join this urgent discussion recognizing that we are ALIVE with many OTHERS as an assemblage? What is left in the world after death?

To answer these questions critically, literature reviews, writings and field trips were carried out to shed lights on the project. The fabulation of Substratocene is inspired by scholars and their intelligent discoveries. This includes but not limited to Dona Haraway's discussion on companion species, Anna Tsing's ethnography with matsutake mushrooms and Stefan Helmreich's review in multispecies ethnography. These discussions encouraged my field trips and qualitative research in commercial spaces to observe current plant-human relationship as well as in forests closely look at fungi habitats. The project occurs at the marriage of these ideas to emerging design application of material science. It includes Skylar Tibbit's idea of Active Matters and Neri Oxman's manifesto in Material Ecology that views other species as co-creator besides human and technology.

DISCOVERY OF SUBSTRATOCENE

Substrate is the medium for organisms to grow and commonly refer to the habitat for fungi. Substratocene thus marks the era of a substrate-centered world, signifying humans' determination in habitat creation for other species to live and reproduce. It marks the attention to change in climate, feeling on human skin, adjust to different timescales and adapt to new natural environments.

Idea of Co-evolution and Substratocene Time Scale

Co-evolution refers to the process in which populations of different species evolve repeatedly in response to each other. It is reciprocity and continual change. It can occur both genetically and culturally (behavioral). According to Russel, genetic evolution can occur as soon as two generations of a species, thus depending on the species the time scale varies.

To set ground for Substratocene, I proposed the year 2180 from the fact that current average lifespan is around 75 years old and increasing. To note, Substratocene is not tied to a single timeline and can occur at multiple geographical and cultural locations at local scales. In this proposed era, humans have successfully made the cultural change from anthropocentric production to Substratocentric ones. It also puts the question of perception of time while giving attention to lifecycle of another species

SUBSTRATOCENE SCENARIOS: FROM MICRO TO MACRO

I. Substratization Labs

The Labs signifies the new definitions of materials in Substratocene: making material in this world habitable for not only humans but also other species. At the same time, the goal is to encourage generational creation of lives and evolutions. Instead of Anthropocentric view of material qualifications such as durability or waterproof and sterile, materials in Substratocene can be ephemeral, climate-reactive and livable. The essential qualification of materials is thus its livability (the ability for fungi to spore and reproduce) and Biodiversity (the variability of different species).

New Sensational Experiences

Living nature of the fabric enables new multi-sensory experiences from a human point of view. The material is constantly growing, giving it different daily look, smell and textural quality. For instance, while my mushroom garment is growing, I can experience a stronger smell while water misting on the surface. Also, from different local climate, each individual will have distinct experiences. This also propose a future material experience that is not linear and universal.

Human-Fungi Interdependence

The substratized fabric becomes a channel to build connection between fungi and human. These two different species can exchange nutritional and psychedelic values. For instance, human's sweat can be nutrition for some fungi species. Body temperature can offer stable growing environment. Human mobility can help fungi to find best habitat. At the same time, human can also get nutrition from fungi, as well as medicinal and psychedelic effects.

Cultural and Bio-Diversity

To note, fungi is geographically and culturally rich. In Substratocene, different geographic regions have developed their own labs to develop fabrics that adapt to local fungi systems, culture and climate. The appearance of labs also encourages migration among human communities in order to seek their favorite fungi species to live with.

II. Nurseries and Lifestyle

While the material offers novel micro-interactions, humans' habitat and lifestyle will drastically change while co-live with fungi. Furnitures, garment and man-made "products" will become living entities in Substratocene. Lifecycle of fungi and situated knowledge of the fungi co-live at the humans' habitats becomes the critical knowledge. Moments in either humans' or fungi's lifecycle will signify action of the other. For instance, mature fruitbodies can signify spore collection events for humans.

Constant care is required to take care of fungi at human habitats. Depending on fungi species, they can live as long as several decades. Maintenance through furniture nurseries thus become essential addition to domestic space. For instance, chair will have a nursery and closet will also be redefined as a nursery. Through nutrient distributional systems, fungi will be able to maintain their life pattern while humans is absent.

III. Social Exchange and Bio-heritage Co-evolution via Fabric

Bodily Interaction for Spore Exchange

Like human reproduction, fungi spores also need to find compatible mate to reproduce. Mobility of human body allows that chance of finding compatible mate increase for fungi. With human's ability to travel locally and globally, spores can find compatible mate within the same species or even with surprising others. The chances of new genetic combination thus drastically increase.

Different human social events will also encourage different levels of sporing events. For instance, an international sporing party can be hosted to maximize the level of spore exchange for higher level of mutations. Fungi species will then also become a mark of social activities.

Geographical Movements

In the past, fungi had mutually evolved with other organisms, plants and animals. For instance, mycorrhizal fungi evolved with plant to help them absorb more nutrients and even survive in nutrient-poor soils. Wearing the Substratized fabric, humans' mobility and bodily social interaction enables exponential possibility increase in genetic material exchange. With fungi, humans are able to more easily adapt to different biosphere conditions, even mental peacefulness.

Geographical regions can also be re-navigated according to the different local fungi species. Substratocene asks humans' attention on climate and geographical features.

Passing Down Bio-Heritage

Kinship between human and fungi does not end with any death. Humans' last nutrition can be absorbed by fungi, allowing another generation of growth and sporing events. Human's family and friends can collect these spores to further evolve them. The action of rubbing and hugging the dead body represents a new ritual that embrace life's end and its resurgence in another organism.

REFLECTION AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES

To further develop this project, I wish to root this project further with more in-depth research in different cultures' histories and relationship with local fungi species. Research and Making with a living species underscore the importance of recognition to biosphere and corresponding local cultures. Fungi species is so rich and widely spread in different regions in the world. Different culture also developed distinct behaviors, rituals, usage of their local fungi. I wish to research in topics include both nature-culture, and materiality – spirituality especially in non-western cultures if time allows. Indeed, given the goal of co-evolution in Substratocene, new fungi species and human traits can be designed given the premise in Substratocene.