Fungal attachments: Amadou-making across vernacular crafts and contemporary arts

This article examines the fungal material known as amadou across two contexts: the vernacular craft of amadou-making in the Romanian village of Corund, a tradition that persists among a small number of local families, and contemporary arts, with a critical view on the recontextualization of this material in an artistic and commercial setting. Employing a multispecies ethnographic approach alongside insights from arts and design involving amadou, we investigate the relationship between amadou-makers and the tinder fungus ( Fomes fomentarius ) integral to this craft. Special attention is paid to the sensory attributes and affordances of amadou, which frequently evoke profound feelings of attachment, and their remediation and intersection with contemporary design practices. We propose that the sense of attachment evoked by amadou serves as a material-sensorial anchor for both amadou-makers and their craft tradition, as well as in broader human–fungus relations involving contemporary design.