FOLLOW US
Makers House
Atelier
Other Matter
B.E.T.A. TM
Share
OTHER MATTER is an experimental studio working with algae-based bioplastics. Through the design of objects, experiences and futures, we invite others to engage with the possibilities of a post-petrochemical world.
EXPLORING SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
Founded by Jessie French, OTHER MATTER’s experimental studio is born from artistic practice speculating on the possibility of a post-petrochemical world.
OTHER MATTER is an extension of this practice working to ‘walk the walk’ of this proposition. Materials in common use come with hundreds of years of built-up knowledge and large investment from diverse users investing in the development of documentation, data and research into use of them. This is a small scale start into the possibilities for this algae-based material.
460m tonnes of petrochemical plastic were produced
globally in 2019. Around 9% was recycled.
[OECD, Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers,
Environmental Impacts and Policy Options (OECD, 2022)]
EDIBLE VESSELS
The plastics made by OTHER MATTER are safe enough to eat. The material can be re-formed into new items in a non-industrial process. It is biodegradable and compostable. If discarded, it can be beneficial for the environments it lands in.
All outcomes are currently experimental, as research to build up information and testing required to apply the material in wider settings is underway. Questioning the validity of industrial-scale processes that continue colonial practices, particularly on the stolen lands which OTHER MATTER operate on is something that the studio is concerned with. Something has got to give on this damaged planet. OTHER MATTER is not sympathetic to a business as usual approach, and supports decolonisation.
OTHER MATTER acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrng and Boon Wurrung People of the Eastern Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which it, whose are among the oldest existing human cultures. OTHER MATTER pays respect to elders past, present and future, and recognises that sovereignty was never ceded.
Learn more about Other Matter
Other Matter Website
ARTISANS IN RESIDENCE
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
ABOUT BETA BY STH BNK
BETA is a revolutionary testing area to explore the future of retail space, programming and new business models and is designed to give Melburnians a feel for what can be expected as part of Beulah’s transformative and visionary mini-metropolis, STH BNK By Beulah.
SUBSCRIBE FOR BETA UPDATES
