Mycelium, 2021 - 2023
Selected works

Mycelium is a visual exploration of connection in the face of cognitive decline, a shared universe between father and son. As Alzheimer’s disease gradually distorts thinking and speech, visual language takes over from words. Set against the backdrop of shared forest walks, the work traces a growing distance between father and son, bridged through photography and painting in a visual dialogue.

Several photographic prints resulting from these walks are returned to De Rode’s father, who paints over them in an intuitive, unscripted process. The resulting images offer a glimpse into a shifting inner world, where form takes on different meanings and colour intensifies. Over a two-year period, the paintings become increasingly abstract—eventually obscuring the photographs beneath. Figuration fades, and the images take on a new, ambiguous presence.

This visual correspondence becomes the material expression of a personal mycelium: an unseen network of connection beneath the surface. The forest acts as both setting and metaphor—a quiet, connective space where rational language gives way to visual intuition. In this universe, shaped by deterioration and wonder, the work offers a way to stay close, even as understanding slips away.

Publication ‘Mycelium’ (2023). 27 x 20 cm, 82 pages, ed. 300. Self-published.

Birches, 2022. Archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle photo rag, wooden frame, 61 x 81 cm.

A bridge to my father, 2021, Archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle photo rag, 61 x 46 cm.

A glimpse into the mind V, 2022. Acrylic and archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle photo rag, 27 x 20 cm

A glimpse into the mind XX, 2023. Acrylic and archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle photo rag, 27 x 20 cm

A glimpse into the mind XIV, 2023. Acrylic and archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle photo rag, 27 x 20 cm

A glimpse into the mind XV, 2023. Acrylic and archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle photo rag, 27 x 20 cm

Universe, 2022. Archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle photo rag, wooden frame, 61 x 46 cm.

A glimpse into the mind XVX, 2023. Acrylic and archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle photo rag, 27 x 20 cm.

PDF documentation including the full series available upon request

Justus de Rode To Petrify an Echo 2026 Views of Nature 2024 - present Mycelium 2021 - 2023 About Newsletter Email Instagram

Justus de Rode

To Petrify an Echo 2026

Views of Nature 2024 - present
Mycelium 2021 - 2023

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