FUNGI
Category
Daylight investigations - Region 3: The Americas
Students
Mati Kapszuk
Teacher
Juan Manuel Alonso
School
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Country
Argentina
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BackgroundIn 2016, after many years of downsizing, the closure of Ferrobaires, the Operational Unit of the Provincial Railway Program, left 16 villages isolated in the province of Buenos Aires. These places that once were connected by train, which promoted a substantial dynamic and certain lifestyle, now only have some dirt roads to get access to them. This led the villages to get smaller, losing infrastructure, and population.
Today, 6 years after the final closure, the train tracks that once were a great part of these villages’ identities are disappearing, swallowed by the vegetation of the area. We find these villages in decay and in danger of being forgotten if they didn’t have already.
Conceptual Idea Decay is often perceived negatively, as fungi take over a body and lead to its decomposition. However, the decay also becomes an opportunity for growth through a formative process. In the case of the matsutake, a kind of fungi, it spores to process dead organic matter, benefitting both the environment and the humans that consume it. Therefore, the decay of the train tracks presents an opportunity to make an intervention, to resignify the site, and at the same time, make a statement highlighting the lack of infrastructure and abandonment from part of the government.
Intervention The intervention consists of the placement of artificial fungi that with solar energy emit led lights that help the growth of vegetation and crops. This, not only promotes community agricultural activity but also virtually rebuilds lighting up the road that today is already covered up almost its entirety.
ConclusiónThis way, Fungi transform the decay of these villages into growth and reinforcement of their identity. Fungi are a reminder that while the train tracks may not be operational, they have not been forgotten, least of all the villages. As memory is an active action, we are what we chose to remember, we are what we chose to enlighten.