DETAILS
Free, no booking required
NGV Federation Court
NGV International, Saint Kilda Road, Melbourne VIC, Australia
DATES
Fri 16 May 1 – 1.45pm
The memory of materials — their histories, transformations, and cultural associations — shapes how we perceive, transform and live with them. This discussion explores how this materials store memories as much as we do, and what design narratives emerge from these?
Join designer Jessie French and interior designer Fiona Lynch in conversation with NGV curator Timothy Moore besides Yayoi Kusama’s Dancing Pumpkin to talk about the meaning of materials through their recent projects.
Participants
Fiona Lynch, Fiona Lynch Office
Fiona Lynch is the founder of Fiona Lynch Office, whose fine arts expertise informs her bold use of colour, tone and texture. Spirited minimalism meets atmospheric potency in her layered interiors, crafted for residential, retail, cultural and hospitality spaces. The studio incorporates bespoke furniture, lighting, textiles and joinery, engaging hand-picked local and international collaborators to create distinctive design encounters. Fiona Lynch Office has been commissioned to design interiors for major Australian cultural institutions from the TarraWarra Museum of Art to the National Gallery of Victoria and the Powerhouse Museum, as well as the rooftop restaurant for Ace Hotels’ first Australian outpost in Sydney, with more artistic public spaces in development. Fiona Lynch's commitment to sustainable practices is manifested through Future Archive, a digital resource that catalogues innovative and aesthetically appealing sustainable materials and design products from around the globe.
Jessie French, Other Matter
Jessie French is an experimental artist and designer pioneering a post-petrochemical future through material innovation. Her practice explores the aesthetic and ecological potential of algae-based bioplastics, envisioning a world beyond conventional plastics. In 2021, French founded Other Matter®, a design studio dedicated to developing and commercialising non-petrochemical materials for architectural and interior applications. As an extension of her artistic inquiry, Other Matter serves as a platform for rethinking material production and consumption within a circular economy. In 2024, the studio developed a groundbreaking, sustainable alternative to traditional PVC signage, marking a significant step toward scalable, real-world applications of her research.
Timothy Moore
Timothy Moore is the Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture, and Melbourne Design Week at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). In this role, he has contributed to major exhibitions such as NGV Triennial, Melbourne Now, the NGV Architecture Commission, Liam Young: Planetary Redesign, and Watch&Chill 3.0 (that toured to MMCA, PEM and TONO Festival) as well as Melbourne Design Week from 2017 to 2025. Timothy is also the founder of Sibling Architecture, a practice recognised for its socially engaged architectural work. Sibling’s exhibitions and designs have been featured at the NGV, the Istanbul Design Biennial, the São Paulo Architecture Biennial, Melbourne Design Week and Science Gallery Melbourne. In addition to his curatorial and architectural work, Timothy serves as Associate Dean (Engagement) at Monash University's Art, Design and Architecture (MADA). He is a researcher with XYX Lab at Monash University, where his work explores the intersection of gender, sexuality, equity, and architecture. Timothy's professional experience spans architecture offices in Melbourne, Amsterdam, and Berlin, as well as editorial roles with influential publications such as Volume, Architecture Australia, Future West (Australian Urbanism), Memo Review Architecture, and They Shoot Homos Don’t They?.