The fascinating world of mycelium
Through two major publications, «Graines du Monde» and «Humanité Végétale*, photographer Mario Del Curto has explored the connections between humans and plants. Since then, he has turned his attention to a third kingdom: the mysterious and almost infinite realm of fungi.
Discreet and often overlooked, the fungal kingdom is nonetheless one of the great architects of life on Earth. It nourishes the soil, connects forests, shapes ecosystems, inspires medicine and contributes to the balances on which our future depends. These are also the mushrooms we pick and eat.
Mario del Curto has travelled the globe in search of fungi in all their immense variety. In FUNGI, he shares what he has seen and photographed, from Lake Geneva to China. He has teamed up with mycologist Katia Gindro to provide the text, adding a scientific perspective.
How can one reveal a world that begins where the eye stops?
For several years, Mario Del Curto has explored laboratories, forests and scientific collections to create a unique body of work, straddling the boundaries of art, science and exploration. His images reveal a universe of striking beauty: taken out of context, some appear abstract. Yet they depict reality in its most mysterious form.
FUNGI is a unique book about mushrooms. This publication is intended to do honour to both the photographic and scientific work: 215 x 300 mm, 320 pages, hardback, sewn binding. Publication date: October 2026.
Book cover (mock-up). Caption: A fungus growing on a tree trunk, with blue pigments beginning to form. Switzerland, 2021 
Appearance of blue fungal pigments on a mushroom. Apatity, Russia, 2023 | Sulphur polypore. Mushroom Museum, Saumur, France, 2023 | Growth of a fungus on the underside of a saprophytic mushroom. La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, 2024 
Bioluminescent fungi. Achijojima, Japan, 2025 
A wasp colonised by a fungus. Switzerland, 2022 
Morel cultivation in a greenhouse, China, 2024. 
Microscopic view of a truffle. EPFL, Switzerland, 2023 
Balloon launch to capture fungal spores in the stratosphere. Payerne, Switzerland, 2024. 
Katia Gindro and Mario Del Curto
Why support FUNGI?
Today, the images are ready, the texts have been written, and the layout is in progress.
A well-known French publisher was supposed to support the project, but disruptions in the publishing industry brought it to a halt. We now lack the resources to take the final step: producing and distributing a book that does justice to its subject matter and merit.
We have therefore decided to continue the project with an independent Swiss publisher. The book will be produced and printed entirely in Switzerland.
Your support will help fund the printing, binding and distribution of this unique book. Supporting FUNGI is not just about bringing a book into being. It is about contributing to the spread of essential knowledge, strengthening the dialogue between art and science, and highlighting one of the most discreet but most important actors on our planet: mushrooms.
Project images for rewards
In the image gallery, you will find a selection of photographs relating to the rewards. These will also feature in the book FUNGI.
