Anna Bak’s installation I’m gonna build you a house, I’m gonna whisper in every single stone explores themes like connection, resilience, and how we might exist together differently. The work invites you to reflect on the life of fungi – a form of life that challenges the way we normally understand structure and community.
In a time of ecological crisis and uncertainty, there’s something to learn from fungi. They grow in vast, branching networks that connect species, share resources, and break down what’s old to make room for new life. Their mycelium – an underground network of threads – acts like a living communication system and reminds us of a world where everything is connected.
The installation is built from wood and forms a space where carved mushrooms emerge from the corners. You’re invited to take a seat, lean into the work, and listen to the immersive soundscape. It gives you a moment to tune into the surrounding nature – and maybe also to the invisible networks we create through digital communication.
Through I’m gonna build you a house, I’m gonna whisper in every single stone, you’re encouraged to imagine societies that work like fungal networks – based on reciprocity, flexibility, and care for the fragile ecosystems we’re part of. Can we learn to live in balance with nature instead of trying to control it? The work reminds us that utopias don’t have to be distant dreams – they’re already growing quietly beneath our feet.
Anna Bak works as both a visual artist and a curator. Through her practice, she curiously looks both inward and outward in an investigation of man's relationship with nature. Her most recent solo exhibition Fatal Waves in 2024 was awarded a prize by the Danish Arts Foundation, which has also acquired several of her works for their collection. Anna Bak lives and works in Copenhagen.