Look at these beautiful book sculptures adorned in fungi and coral.

Australian artist Stéphanie Kilgast is trying to make a point about the millions upon millions of books that end up in landfills each year. A sculptor who works primarily in discarded materials, Kilgast’s latest series focuses on old books, reimagining them as sources of organic vitality playing host to delicately rendered mushrooms, coral, flowers, and butterflies.

“Old and New,” 2022.

“Ancestral History,” 2021.

“Contre Vents et Maree,” (detail), 2021.

“Beginnings,” 2022.

“Hungry,” 2021.

“Happy or Doomsday Colors,” 2022.