Artistic process

Origins and Aims

About Fungi and Being in the Dark, began in late 2024 as a collaboration between artists Arnont Nongyao (Thailand), and Emilio Mula, Ric Byer, and Clare Parker of NooN Collective (UK); working with producers Filament (UK) and Chiangmai Art Conversation (Thailand) through a British Council International Collaboration Grant.

Our project also connected the English Riviera and Satun UNESCO Global Geoparks, together with local ecological partners already part of the international Geoparks family, and connected by their geological heritage. These became the physical and conceptual sites for the work.

In our first online meetings we spoke about darkness, fungi and vibrations — the hidden systems that connect everything. We asked how we might work together across distance, culture and time zones; how ‘not knowing’ would be a method, a process; and how the cave might act as both a space for making and sharing, and a metaphor for spaces of not knowing.

The word TAAHM came from the Thai ถ้ำ (thâm). We liked its sound — open, resonant, like a single drumbeat. It carried no predetermined meaning in either language and could belong in an equally new and discoverable space for us all.

From these early conversations came three simple aims:

1. To experiment with collaboration across physical and digital space.

2. To explore how art can listen to and learn from ecological systems.

3. To build sustained relationships between artists, scientists and educators in the two Geoparks.

Digital Collaboration and Black Boxes

Between December 2024 and March 2025, our collaboration existed purely online. We met regularly inside a virtual cave designed by Emilio Mula in Spatial.io — a black, echoing space where our avatars could float, walk, or get stuck against invisible walls. It was awkward, funny and surprisingly intimate.

At the same time we exchanged physical black boxes through the post between Thailand and the UK. Each contained small, unexplained objects: things found, made, or chosen for their sound or feel. We opened them together on screen, responding with instruments, phones, or gestures. These exchanges became early improvisations — small acts of trust that helped us build a shared rhythm.

Alongside the creative play there was practical planning: visa timelines, flight routes, equipment lists, meetings, problem-solving and possibilities thinking with partners at Satun UNESCO Global Geopark, Art Residency Thailand, Kents Cavern and Wild Planet Trust..

During this phase of the project we evolved processes and languages — part technical, part emotional — for making work together across distance.

Exchange visit in the UK

Our first in-person collaboration was through a residency at Kents Cavern in Devon, UK (4 – 18 April 2025).

Arnont Nongyao and Atikom Mukdapracorn (CAC) travelled from Chiang Mai to join NooN (Clare, Ric and Emilio). Based at Kents Cavern, one of Britain’s oldest known human dwellings, we also explored the wider area and connected with conservation and cultural partners. Over two weeks we:

explored Kents Cavern and the Clennon Gorge Nature Trail with ecologists Dave and Farah from Wild Planet Trust;

tested biosensors, geofons, hydrophones and high sensitive microphones; recording ambient sounds, vibrations from living things, and cave resonances;

ran a Super Sensing workshop for home-education families and Kents Cavern visitors;

developed new sound and projection material in improvised sessions at the Cavern Cottage.

Evenings were spent exploring cultures, ideas, instruments and food; conversations wandered from mythology to bat echolocation. The physical work made everything more real — we could sense each other’s timing, humour and habits.

We performed at Breaking Convention, an international academic convention of research spanning psychedelics, consciousness and indigenous practices.

These sessions laid the groundwork for how we would later work in Thailand: small teams, quick experiments, attention to local expertise, and an openness to whatever each place offered.

Exchange visit in Thailand

The second residency ran from 5 May to 24 May 2025, starting in Satun UNESCO Global Geopark exploring cave environments and the wider Geopark; and then travelling north to Chiang Mai for studio time together and engagement workshops.

Satun phase: Supported by Dr Nattapan Kagohnnan and Dr. Narongrit Thungprue (Director of Satun UNESCO Global Geopark) we explored a range of caves: Tham Le Stegadon, Tham Urai Thong and Tham Phu Phat Phet. We travelled on foot and by boat through vast underground chambers to record sound, light and humidity. Arnont described it as “canoeing down the digestive system of the Earth.” We held long jam sessions afterwards, replaying the cave’s resonance through drums, found objects and field recordings.

Chiang Mai phase: NooN artists were generously hosted at PREM International School, with Alex Soulsby as part of the Artist Residency Thailand programme. We worked with around 100 students aged 8 – 17 through workshops combining sound, art and digital media. Sessions connected to the school’s International Baccalaureate curriculum and encouraged students to experiment with listening and technology.

The artists forged a deep shared language and generated new music compositions, processing shared experiences without words, through improvised sound and vibration. We were able to record one composition at Woranon Recording Studio Chiangmai; a durational piece which is now mastered and available on Bandcamp to download.

We made a new connection with fellow artist-in-residence Isabelle Arvers which is opening up new possibilities for future projects together. We also met with the British Consul for Northern Thailand (Ben Svasti Thomson), participated in a local artist lunch, and held an evening performance jam at Thapae East Art Space, documented by Kom and artist-in-residence Isabelle Arvers.

This phase deepened the network around the project — linking artists, educators and officials through shared curiosity about sound, ecology and cultural exchange.

Residencies and public facing works

After returning from Thailand NooN entered a period of engagement, residencies and public installations that extended their work with a wider network of collaborating artists. At the end of May we shared 3 public facing events as part of the Geopark Festival (English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark public facing annual festival):

```
Super Sensing workshop at Paignton Zoo
```

Embrace the Unknown international interdisciplinary conversation about how being in a state of not knowing opens us to radical transformation and new learning

The Virtual Cave ope to public visitors to explore

Shawbrook residency (County Longford, Ireland) – June 2025: Two weeks of rehearsal, performance, and workshops with Longford Arts Office and dancers from the UK and Ireland. We explored movement, shadow and sound in studio and forest settings and held a public sharing for 50 people. A field visit and planning meeting with Geopark staff at Marble Arch Caves established future collaboration possibilities linking Ireland, Thailand and the UK.

Paignton Zoo (Domhnain installation) – July – August 2025: A collaboration with Wild Planet Trust and English Riviera Geopark. Domhnain combined sculpture, projection and sound to evoke underground ecologies along the zoo’s rainforest trail. Around 3,000 – 4,000 visitors experienced the work. Feedback from staff described it as “sublime.” A partner event on 21 August brought together Geopark representatives, RAMM, and UNESCO colleagues to discuss the project.

Fungi In Your Headlights – September 2025: A solo exhibition by Arnont Nongyao at the Panic Room, presenting films and sound from the caves. A public artist talk (Arnont & NooN Collective) was recorded and shared online (YouTube).

Penumbra – October 2025: A live performance at Kents Cavern (17 – 19 Oct) created by NooN. The piece guided audiences through the cave by torchlight, combining sound, projection and movement.

A digital concept album on www.taahm.art shared the project with online audiences, including artistic process and sharing media from culminating works, with music also released via TAAHM on Bandcamp.

Themes and Learning

Across 2024 – 25 we learned much about collaboration, caves, darkness, connections.

Darkness and attention – Working in literal and metaphorical dark, demanded listening and trust. We found that slowing down created deeper listening.

Interspecies listening – Biosensors and field recordings extended our sound practice to include non-human voices: bats, fungi, water, electricity in plants.

Exchange and translation – Bilingual communication and shared technical problem-solving built genuine mutual understanding.

Education and participation – Hands-on sessions at Kents Cavern, PREM School and Paignton Zoo brought children and families into direct contact with the process. Public facing works invited audiences in UK, Thailand and online to share in the materials gathered and artistic work created.

Environmental partnerships – The project created new links between artists and organisations working in conservation and heritage. Geopark staff, scientists and educators became collaborators as much as hosts.

Our shared logbook, images, and recordings now form an open archive of this learning, used by partners in both countries.

Next Steps and Continuing Work

The collaboration continues to grow through exhibitions, performances and new partnerships. Extracts from Penumbra will be shared as part of an evening of dance at Exeter Phoenix on 10 Nov 2025. The artists plan to continue their online studio practice with monthly improv sessions via zoom and in the Virtual Cave. The team have evolved the concept for a virtual cave environment - with a funding bid submitted which if successful will lead to a new collaborative project with Isabelle Arvers, Arnont Nongyao and NooN Collective in 2026. Planning is in progress for 2026 residencies, including the possibility of returning to Art Residency Thailand, Chiang Mai; and Marble Arch Caves, Ireland.