CAN WE DREAM IT?

LIMITED EDITIONARTISTS' BOOKS

12 Mar

Written By Gracia & Louise

Can we imagine what an edition of Edward Donovan’s An epitome of the natural history of the insects of China, from 1798, might look like if it were buried beneath the earth, if it were absorbed by the mycorrhizal framework of diverse systems?

Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
Can we dream it?
2026

32 page concertina artists’ book, inkjet print, with hand-cut paper components, on Moenkopi Kozo 110, encased in hand-cut envelope
Printed by Arten
Bound by Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison, with hand-cut elements
Unique state

Can we imagine what an edition of Edward Donovan’s An epitome of the natural history of the insects of China[i], from 1798, might look like if it were buried beneath the earth, if it were absorbed by the mycorrhizal framework of diverse systems? Permeated with dried specimens of Coniophora, Coprinopsis and several lichens[ii], the engraved and hand-coloured, glossy highlights of Donovan’s Field crickets and Lantern bugs are in a different kind of transformative process, one that is part concealment, part dream state. What does it look like? How might it feel? How, indeed, do fungi make worlds, over the albumen overglaze of Dung beetles, or the metallic sheen of the wood-boring Chrysochroa vittata? What might those interlaced webs sound like as they grow, all energy and all movement? Can we fuse a fantastical symbiosis on the page in a state of togetherness?

[i] Donovan’s trilogy of illustrated works on insects, known as the Epitome series, features over 100 species from China, 250 species in Insects of India and the Islands in the Indian Seas (1800), and 153 species in Insects of New Holland, New Zealand, New Guinea, Otaheite, and other islands in the Indian, Southern, and Pacific Oceans (1805). “These works offer a glimpse into the intersection of art and science in the Georgian era.” ‘Donovan’s Insects: Among the earliest European recordings of the entomology of Asia and the Pacific’, The University of Sydney Library, https://www.library.sydney.edu.au/browse/special-collections/donovan-s-insects, accessed 2nd March, 2026.

[ii] Pseudocyphellaria carpoloma (Delise) Vain., Pseudocyphellaria durvillei (Delise) Vain., Pseudocvohellaria carooloma (Delise) Vain., Menegazzia eperforata P.James & D.J.Galloway, and more besides. “Lichens are neither fungi nor plants — they are both. Lichens are classified with the fungi (being sometimes referred to as lichenized fungi). The fungi incorporated into lichens are largely ascomycetes, with very few basidiomycetes involved.” ‘What is a lichen?’, Australian National Herbarium, https://www.anbg.gov.au/lichen/what-is-lichen.html, accessed 2nd March, 2026.

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Entanglements with Fungi: Life, Death and Renewal

SATURDAY 21ST OF MARCH – SUNDAY 14TH OF JUNE, 2026
AN EXHIBITION CURATED BY DR FELICITY SPEAR
WAMA FOUNDATION, THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ART, 4000 ARARAT-HALLS GAP ROAD, HALLS GAP, VICTORIA

WAMA at Gariwerd fosters a connection between nature and culture, encouraging us to think about human life as intertwined with Earth’s ecological systems. Entanglements with Fungi: Life, Death and Renewal, invites viewers to imagine the hidden networks which shape and sustain ecosystems. The exhibition draws on ideas from art and science to explore the complexity of the Kingdom Fungi—a distinct realm, neither plant nor animal, and the foundation for life on Earth.

The cycle of life, death and renewal is continuously enacted through this complex and mysterious ‘fungus underworld’ with its diverse metabolic abilities and varied habitats, playing a vital role in the life of our planet. As mycologist, author and environmental photographer Dr Alison Pouliot observes “Fungi underpin terrestrial ecosystems, forming cross kingdom collaborations with countless creatures and intimately entwining with plants.”

Today the artists invite you to imagine the underlying structures and networks within nature that shape and connect ecosystems. What might be revealed in the intricate entanglements between fungi, plants, and the wider living world? What might it feel like to see, hear, or smell through the senses of other species? The artists ask you to imagine what it might feel like to be something other than human.

Featured artists include: Chris Drury (UK), Dr Chris Henschke, Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, Vicki Hallett, Sam Leach, Alison Pouliot, Debbie Symons, and Felicity Spear

Dr Felicity Spear