Mush fun: SAM exhibitionist Beci Orpin has crafted a colourful and creative mushroom exhibit for the children’s gallery.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
News journalist Jay Bryce sat down with artist Beci Orpin, the creative force behind Shepparton Art Museum’s latest children’s gallery MUSH/ROOM, unveiled on September 15.
MUSH/ROOM invites visitors young and old to embark on a whimsical journey through the world of gigantic and tiny mushrooms and fungi, exploring the process of forming and playing with ideas.
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Melbourne-based, Ms Orpin is a renowned multidisciplinary artist, designer and author celebrated for her vibrant use of colour and animation.
With a career spanning 25 years, Ms Orpin has left her creative imprint on major brands and organisations, including Apple, Google, Disney, Uniqlo and The Australian Ballet.
She has also shared her knowledge and creativity through workshops and lectures at national institutions such as the National Gallery of Victoria, Craft Victoria and Melbourne Design Week.
The MUSH/ROOM exhibition at SAM is a transformation of the children’s gallery.
It turns the space into a playful and imaginative realm filled with mushrooms and fungi, created using a blend of found, donated and handcrafted materials.
From gigantic mushrooms to clusters of smaller fungi, the exhibit offers visitors a delightful experience that encourages them to ponder how ideas evolve.
“I’ve been obsessed with mushrooms for a while, there’s so many fascinating things about them,” Ms Orpin said.
“There’s lots of debate if they’re animals or plants or they’re their own organism that just sort of, you know, survives.
“They have their own kind of classification, they can grow anywhere.
“There’s not that much known about them.”
She created the mushrooms from “objects that already exist”.
Ms Orpin tapped into the local Shepparton community, discovering objects and materials that reflect the area’s unique character.
In the weeks before the opening, she had been collecting various items from local op shops in Greater Shepparton.
Because, as she puts it, “there’s nothing like a country op shop”.
Ms Orpin has repurposed tires, lampshades, bowls, glass, lampshades and ceramics into colourful mushroom art.
Colourful fungi: The majority of the mushrooms are made from repurposed materials.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Colour is a central element of Ms Orpin’s work.
She draws inspiration from the vivid hues found in nature, including the colourful world of mushrooms.
While many associate mushrooms with earthy browns, Ms Orpin’s exhibit bursts with vibrant colours, mirroring the kaleidoscopic diversity of real-life fungi.
Ms Orpin drew parallels between how her art begins in her thoughts and could come from anywhere, just like mushrooms will seemingly spring up randomly and grow into “something quite beautiful”.
“It goes back to that theory about mushrooms being living organisms,” she said.
“With my artworks, I see them as living, for sure.
“But I guess I hope that everybody will have their interpretation of what it is and what form it takes and how it grows.
“Yeah, it’s definitely its own organism.”
The SAM Art Card drawing series, a recurring feature in the children’s gallery, invites young artists to envision their unique fungi creations, which are then displayed alongside the exhibit.
SAM curator of community Caroline Esbenshade said the Art Card series was especially engaging for the younger audience, allowing them to quite literally see themselves in the space by hanging their own art on the wall.
“We want them to really feel like it’s theirs and have their presence through their expressions of creativity within this space,” she said.
“So this time, we’re asking the kids to imagine what these different real mushrooms look like that have fun names like octopus, stinkhorn, and brown leaf jelly.
“So we’re hoping these wild titles will spark imaginations because a lot of the concepts that Beci has developed within the show are about ideas and imagination and how you kind of come up with ideas and grow them, just like little mushroom spawn.”
MUSH/ROOM carries a powerful message: art is accessible and could be crafted from everyday objects.
Ms Orpin hopes visitors of all ages will leave with a sense of wonder, inspired to create art from whatever materials they have on hand.
She encourages adults to embrace their inner child, play, and let their imaginations run wild.
