A New Material Future, an interview with Jessie French

ROKBOX had the honour of interviewing artist and experimental designer Jessie French. Jessie also founded Other Matter, a pioneering circular materials lab.

Jessie shared a philosophical and practical reflection on what it means to create work that responds meaningfully to the conditions of the present.

ROKBOX: Thanks for joining us Jessie. Can you tell us how Other Matter started? 

Jessie French: My work started as an artistic practice that began looking at the links between petrochemicals and chemical pollution, climate justice and other issues that we have in front of us in terms of the many, many environmental crises that we see. 


When my research looked into petrochemicals and the origins of fossil fuels, I was interested to find out that the fossils in fossil fuels are largely microalgae, because that’s really all that existed on Earth when petroleum oil was made. 

I found it so bizarre that we’re using something so ancient that it predates most life forms on Earth, that’s been in the process of being made for millions of years, to create items that are disposed of within a moment. Over 50% of petroleum plastic production is used for disposable use. 

We go to museums to revere and care for objects that are much younger. 

That contradiction was the start of my work. 

I developed a non-petrochemical algae-based polymer, originally in big hangings that told the story of this ancient link. 

When I got to the exhibition design, one of the things you have to do is order vinyls for the wall text. I realised, oh wait, this definitely can’t be done in conventional PVC signage film.

ROKBOX: How did you develop an alternative to phthalate-heavy PVC signage? 

Jessie French: I work a lot with conservators, and the other day one described signage film as ‘naughty PVC’. It’s quite different to the rigid PVC that our plumbing pipes are made of. To make it thin and flexible, it’s got up to 50% phthalate content. Several phthalates commonly used in flexible PVC signage have been formally classified by the European Union as Substances of Very High Concern, with restrictions on their use in plasticised materials in force across the EU since 2020. The European Union’s chemicals regulator, the World Health Organization, and the US National Toxicology Program have all identified specific phthalates as endocrine-disrupting compounds with effects on human reproductive and developmental health. These regulatory and scientific signals make the long-term specifiability of conventional phthalate-rich signage materials increasingly uncertain.

It’s not only toxic at the very beginning when people are working with them – cutting them, installing them. It releases toxins that are absorbed through the skin and the air we breathe. 

So it’s an ethical point. 

While I was sitting with this problem, some producers were fabricating some wooden mounts for me so I took a bit of my material from the studio and said, Hey, can you cut my vinyls from this? They did, and it worked fine. Machined it, totally fine. 

I had a studio visit that same week with Aesop, (Australian skincare and personal-care brand) who were commissioning some artwork and at the end of the visit, they asked what was on my window. I told them the story, and that campaign then evolved to include our film on the windows and walls of 39 stores, across Australia and New Zealand. Their partnership enabled me to file a patent, which has led to the a lot of the developments we have been able to progress with Other Matter. 

I saw the work as extending out into this functional realm. I feel like right now we’re in a time of incredible crisis and it calls for something more than just decorative work. 

A friend, Mayatili Marika, is a Traditional Owner from Yolŋu nation of Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land. She’s part of one of the longest continuing human cultures and human histories. She said, art has never been just art for us. It’s functional. It’s maps, it’s constellations, it’s knowledge sharing.

RB: What challenges did you come up against? 

JF: Challenges are a matter of perception really, it’s all part of the process. You just keep at it, that’s what it’s all about.

We’re solving quite big issues and you do come up against challenges, of course, every day and then there’s thousands more others in front of you. But it’s about taking your mind off trying to be perfect and change everything at once. Just work on things one at a time and make progress towards a wider vision. 


This started as something artistic, not scientific, and it was just me for a long time.

I knew our material could be completely close-loop recycled in a circular process.

RB: Does science matter?

JF: I know our material is very different from other non-vinyl films coming out, but we had to get that scientifically proven. A chance meeting has led to having six CSIRO [Australian federal science agency] scientists working with us, and they’ve just finished their first part of their research. 

They’re excited to see something that’s outside the lab – many research projects never make it into a practical application or implementation phase. We have done it the other way; started with major commercial projects, proven the manufacturing workflows, and then brought in the scientists. 


RB: How do you apply Other Matter?

JF: We now use the same material system and apply it in a couple of different ways.

As signage – temporary signage, temporary indoor signage. And instead of cutting it out into signage, we apply it as a whole window. 

And as an interior finish, as Other Matter Architectural Film,  we adhere it onto a rigid substrate, like timber or glass or metal or ceramic, and seal it. Like this it can be used in interior and architectural applications. And that’s really exciting because the impact is so much bigger. 


RB: Tell us more

JF: The first interior architecture application of Other Matter Architectural Film was in a luxury shopping centre in Hainan, China, in an Aesop store. The store designed by the brands in-house architects was beautiful, with a concept of invoking the feeling of being underwater as a child; the memory of water filtering light. We worked with them to produce a lighting installation with 2000 pieces of aluminium hand-coated on both sides with our material. We then sealed each one in wax encapsulation, a historical conservation technique that keeps the application natural, non-toxic and reversible. Every piece is unique. The whole installation is modular, so it can be moved between fitouts at the end of the cycle. 

We also wrapped a structural column at the front of the store in a marble-pattern film. It wasn’t designed to stand in for marble, but it has the same effect: high-end and natural-looking.

The carbon accounting is the part I’d point to. We rolled the film up and shipped it in a poster tube, weighing less than ten kilos. Compared to the equivalent in marble, using Other Matter Architectural Film reduced the CO2e by 87 percent.

RB: How are you closing the loop? 

JF: Our studio operates with a circular recycling process. We re-process our offcuts and end-of-life signage. We unify it in colour with charcoal which can come from other waste streams, and that thickens it, it almost acts as an aggregate. 

This material, Other Matter Leather, has the tactility of leather, and we are now working with furniture designers on upholstery applications, including a relaunch of an existing seating range with Made by Morgen in Melbourne.

We’re very excited about the circular loop because creating the leather material creates the economic case for recycling to work, which is something that doesn’t work with most other plastics.

There’s significant new EU legislation reshaping materials and supply chains. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, ESPR, applies to textiles from 2028 and furniture from around 2029 to 2030. Every covered product will need a Digital Product Passport disclosing material composition and provenance. There are restrictions on substances of concern, and requirements for durability and repairability. It’s explicitly designed to drive circular practice. 

Designers, brands and manufacturers selling into Europe are going to have to change the way they do business, and most of the industry is not prepared for it.

The world is evolving. 

RB: EU PPWR 2025/40 legislation is similarly reshaping fine art packaging to increase accountability for recycling and increase reuse. Interestingly we see that plastic is a better material for extensive reuse. What are your thoughts? 

JF: There’s a reason that plastic is effective. It puts up with so much knocking without fracturing and things like that and I think it’s reductive to just say all plastics are bad because it’s not true. You know, they’re incredible, that’s why they’re everywhere. 

The main thing is questioning how they’re dealt with and how they’re used. It’s about being conscious of where it’s being used and making sure it’s worth it. 

RB: Thank you Jessie.

https://jessiefrench.com/

https://other-matter.com/

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About ROKBOX

ROKBOX and the collaborative ROKBOX LOOP rental network is redefining fine art shipping by eradicating packaging waste and lowering the carbon emissions of fine art transportation by up to 92%. Founded and based in London, we are a small team of product designers and behaviour change specialists on a mission to make fine art shipping safer, greener and cheaper.  

ROKBOX designs are the only insurance-backed fine art packaging that is also approved by conservators and climate scientists. 

www.rok-boxloop.com