The distinct childhood memory of seeing sunlight refracted through water while swimming, shimmering patterns dancing on the ocean floor, is translated into architecture within Aesop’s inaugural Hainan store.
Conceived by the brand’s in-house designers, the space is articulated by the compression and expansion of massive proportions, a strong datum, and enormous ceiling oculi that make one feel as if they were immersed in a deep ocean cave, looking up at the wavering light. To recreate this sensation, a living substance with an otherworldly quality—algae—was chosen as an architectural material despite the seriously humid environment.
The challenge was to coat 2000 aluminium pieces—destined to be suspended from the oculi—and the four-metre entrance column in the stuff. The problem was hydrophilia: algae will absorb moisture from its surroundings, becoming tacky and then—possibly—mouldy. In collaboration with Jessie French, an experimental artist and designer developing algae-based bioplastics, an innovative method of preserving the organic matter while maintaining its biodegradability was realised. The meticulous testing, trialing and retesting crucial to this process was informed by research gleaned from conservation scientists and art historians.
Overcoming such technical obstacles was all in service of framing an intimate atmosphere around the store’s central basins, where flowing water and Aesop’s formulations for the skin, hair and body combine to create iridescent bubbles. The algal forms, assembled in the light, become a surface of diffuse luminescence, casting flickering reflections onto the walls and floor. As one gazes upon the illuminated, semi-transparent algae, with the slight mirroring of the metal coming through from behind, one is oblivious to the aforementioned trials and tribulations. All one is likely to muse on is a sense of déjà vu, of being transported back to a waterside moment of wonder.
About the artist
Jessie French is an artist and experimental designer based in naarm / Melbourne, Australia. Housed within an ethos of conscious 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, and interaction with objects. In 2020, French founded OTHER MATTER, a design studio working with algae-based bioplastics which tangibly explores application of new materials she develops through objects, experiences and futures.
