The Mycelium Flute Project of Easter Island
The Mycelium Flute Project is not merely a film but a confrontation with the fragile interplay between intent and consequence. It frames the story as a modern-day Hindenburg—a collision of vision and disaster metamorphosing into myth. The film excavates the nuanced spectrum of denial, from the artist’s steadfast belief in creation to the systemic obfuscation of environmental truths. It challenges the voyeuristic impulse of filmmaking, forcing us to reckon with our gaze upon ruin, our complicity in the spectacle, and the blurred lines where art becomes both salvation and destruction. This is more than a cautionary tale—it is a meditation on the cost of ambition and the boundaries we dare to transgress.
Etienne Levi, a renowned cultural preservationist, pores over scores of rare Easter Island antiquities now under threat from minute fungal sporation. These invaluable artifacts, ranging from intricately carved wooden tablets to ceremonial stone figures, bear the subtle but insidious marks of Mycocutis Insidiosa
In the fall of 2018, Lars Holmström began receiving legal correspondence related to the Mycelium Flute Project. However, much of 2018 and 2028 saw Holmström unreachable as he ventured deep into the Amazon, reportedly engrossed in an unrelated artistic endeavor—relocating pythons to Versailles for L’Inquisition des Artistes Magnifiques, a controversial French initiative blending ecological intervention with grand artistic expression. This period of inaccessibility compounded the legal complexities surrounding the project, delaying crucial proceedings and further entangling the artist in a web of ecological and cultural accountability
“now it has mushrooms.”
- Mahea Aro -
STChM’s documentary delves into the human cost of the Mycelium Flute Project, focusing on the residents suffering from Mycocutis Insidiosa, a rare and untreatable fungal skin disease caused by the rampant spread of mycelium. Among the affected is Rapa Nui elder Tekeu Hani, whose fungal beard has left him ostracized, and Mahea Aro, devastated that his favorite hat, passed down through two generations, is now sprouting mushrooms. “This hat has been in my family for two generations,” He laments, “now it has mushrooms.” The film confronts the profound and personal impacts of artistic ambition gone awry.
In a dimly lit backroom, Rapa Nui tribal elders gather around a damaged burial stone, its carvings marred by fungal sporation. Dressed in formal attire, they study the relic with quiet grief, preparing to testify and defend their threatened heritage
Swedish artist Lars Holmström listens intently as Judge Miriam Calderón commences the session at the International Tribunal for Environmental Justice in Porto de Luna, Portugal.
What began as a bold fusion of art, science, and sustainability has devolved into an environmental and political quagmire. The creation of the world’s largest mycelium flute—a 15-meter-long instrument grown from fungal fibers—was the brainchild of renowned Swedish musician-botanist-artist Lars Holmström. Installed on Easter Island amidst global fanfare, the project has left the iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site on the brink of ecological collapse.
“This project was meant to embody the harmony between art and science. Instead, it has left a scar on Easter Island so profound that it threatens to sever the fragile trust between creative ambition and ecological stewardship. The devastation here is a stark reminder of what happens when vision overrides responsibility”
— Dr. Celeste Moreau, UNESCO’s lead on the mycelium cleanup
Michael Jackson Foundation Cease and Desist Letter
The Michael Jackson Foundation’s cease-and-desist letter regarding the unauthorized use of “Billie Jean” in the Mycelium Flute Project is not being presented as evidence in the case against Lars Holmström. As such, we are able to share the letter, which highlights their concerns over copyright infringement and the song’s association with the ecological and cultural disaster on Easter Island. The foundation strongly condemned the context of the usage while advising against future projects entangling the King of Pop’s legacy with experimental endeavors.
Despite extensive efforts by botanists and scientific researchers to contain the outbreak, fungal growth has begun spreading to previously unaffected areas of Easter Island. Minor sites such as Te Pito Kau’a, Hanga Kopeka, and the secluded cove of Rangi Vai have shown alarming signs of Mycocutis Insidiosa infiltrating their ecosystems. These locations, once known for their unique biodiversity and cultural significance, now bear eerie patches of fungal overgrowth, threatening both plant and animal life.
“We’ve worked tirelessly to halt the spread, but the mycelium adapts faster than we can intervene.”
Dr. Mateo Rivas
Leading researcher on the island
In a stark and haunting scene outside the courtroom, three residents of Easter Island, the most severely affected by Mycocutis Insidiosa, arrive to give testimony. Draped in coarse hessian sacks to prevent the spread of airborne spores, their identities are obscured, yet their resilience is palpable. The sacks, frayed and loose, reflect both their isolation and the devastating impact of the fungal disease on their community. Onlookers watch in tense silence, their faces etched with concern, as the residents make their way through the crowded hallway—a grim reminder of the human toll behind the ecological disaster
"It was a visual metaphor for their suffering—anonymity imposed by necessity, their humanity veiled by the fungal plague. The silence as they entered the room was deafening, a collective acknowledgment of the devastation they carry, both on their bodies and in their stories."
READ Amelia Langford’s article for the
The New York Times
The jurors, seated in rows within a wood-paneled courtroom, lean forward with grim expressions, notebooks in hand, as the magnitude of the destruction becomes clear. The atmosphere is heavy, a collective acknowledgment of the weight of their responsibility in delivering justice for an unparalleled cultural tragedy.
STChM 2019 filming a giant Mycelium head, a massive bloom had emerged directly beneath our sleeping bags.
“We cannot say when or how we’ll continue filming the Mycelium Project, It’s unclear whether we’ll ever get to make this film, given the animosity of GECA and the ongoing legal complexities with Lars Holmström.”
STChM