Participating Artists: at Carkeek Park: Anette Lusher April Lelia Thendara Kida Gee Chris Papa Barbara De Pirro Gabriel Brown Aaron Haba Brian Gerich Miguel Edwards By Hand Fiber Consortium Reginald Brooks Stephen Rock Zucker, Turner, Jacobson Peppé Julie Lindell Matt Babcock at Point Shilshole Beach: David Francis Dan Smith Sylwia Tur Eden Rivers Teresa Burrelsman Sponsored by: Center on Contemporary Art Carkeek Park Advisory Council Seattle Parks and Recreation Associated Recreational Council Supported by: 4Culture Site Specific Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs QFC Potter Construction		Site 5: Gabriel Brown Tacoma, Washington Eukarya 2011 A primary goal of my work is to expand from the gallery out to a broad audience with motivational artworks that take on the monumental challenges of the 21st century. This project, consisting of one hundred small, layered cardboard, fungus-like sculptures is titled Eukarya, which refers to the superkingdom that includes both man and fungus. Eukarya protrudes out as an abnormal growth, quickly catching the eye of those passing by. Upon second glance Eukarya is easily determined as cardboard, and may be interpreted as a manmade tumor, mutation, or "ManFungus" reminding us of our mounding garbage problem. In this case, garbage has taken on a life of its own, becoming a new invasive species of our creation. It may be a parasite or virus, thriving off of death and decay. These negative connotations may come from our tendency to think of fungus as dangerous/parasitic, or from our tendency to think of humans as dangerous/parasitic. However, this might not be true of Eukarya. Might it be a mutualistic organism living in symbiosis with its environment? In this case, it could be interpreted literally as recycling garbage into art then to soil. Or it could be interpreted metaphorically as a display of mankind's interdependence with nature and desire to give back. My inspiration behind Eukarya is in fungus itself. This misunderstood kingdom caught my attention three years ago upon reading Mycelium Running, a pivotal text by Mycologist Paul Stamets. Based out of the Olympic Peninsula, Stamets is world renowned for his charismatic love of fungus, ability to articulate its vital/complex role, and for his numerous award-winning patents. My daughter loves finding weird fungus; we spent hours last fall searching through North Seattle neighborhoods, attending the Wild Mushroom Festival at UW, and playing in Carkeek park -going down the salmon slide.