Object Literature
The distinctive red and white fly agaric is said to have inspired both Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Caroll’s hookah-smoking caterpillar and also, the colours of Santa’s suit. Fly agaric is toxic and was traditionally mixed with milk and left out in bowls to kill flies, which is where it gets its name and the ‘spots’ we see are actually remnants of a white veil of tissue that encloses the young mushroom, and can sometimes be washed off by the rain. This iconic mushroom was commonly found on Christmas cards in Victorian and Edwardian times as a symbol of good luck.
A quartet that is everything but toxic; a real bit of joy in a dark world.