Artist Demonstration | Unmaking Bioplastic with Jessie French

In this demonstration with artist Jessie French, learn about the process of unmaking algae-based bioplastic – a biodegradable material which features in her work.

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.

French’s work is included in ‘Maluw Adhil Urngu Padanu Mamuy Moesik (Legends from the deep sitting peacefully on the waters) – Selected works from the 23rd Biennale of Sydney: rīvus’. Anchored by a new commission from the Torres Strait 8, this exhibition explores how our connections to the natural world might decentre the human, prioritise care for Country, and pursue justice in an epoch of rising temperatures and seas.

Jessie French is an artist and experimental designer based in Naarm/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, she explores the potential of closed-loop systems, (re)use, conscious consumption, and interactions 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.