Jessie French is an artist and experimental designer based in Melbourne, Australia. Housed within an ethos of consumption, sustainability and regeneration, her practice invites engagement with the possibilities of a post- petrochemical world. Through experimenting with materials sge explores the potential of closed-loop systems, (re)use, conscious consumption and interaction with objects. in 2020, French founded OTHER MATTER, an experimental design studio working with algae-based bioplastics which tangibly explores application of new materials she develops through objects, experiences and futures.
French’s work explores the meaning and value of the ephemeral; placing value in things that don’t last beyond our lifetimes and challenging our obsession with the idea of ‘built-to-last’, which largely fails to consider the ecological and social impacts of this everlasting durability. Why is it that objects which leave a geological mark lasting an epoch are so readily available, with prices not accounting for their enduring environmental burden?
Through her work – both material research and production – French engages with and confronts our contemporary environmental crisis. She proposes everyday solutions within the frame of human production and consumption.
The polymers French uses come from new algae, a renewable resource that has the potential to rehabilitate oceans and the atmosphere through its sustainable production and harvest, rather than ancient algae – a finite, mined resource that petroleum is made from.
