Joseph Hunter
Driven by climate-conscious design and a hands-on methodology of thinking through making, my practice centres on sustainable material innovation and community engagement. Developing bio-materials into socio-ecological assets, my work aims to draw dialogues between community and material origin, reimagining how we coexist with resources and redefine there “end of life”.
Shucks
Shucks is brand setup to provide bio-solutions for coastal communities, aiming to solve societal and ecological issues using local natural waste. Our goal is to valorise the 133.000 tonnes of annual shellfish waste and recycle that value within the communities that produce and live with it, responding directly to environments and issues surrounding climate and consumption.
Reconnecting material to human
Our relationship with material has grown so distant that we no longer know where or how the products we use have come into existence.
Shucks aims to close this gap by providing a circular biomaterial production service as well as the provisions for evolving community engagement. Localised bio material circles seen in our current projects Tyle and Oorn, are the kind of product narrative we have initiated in attempt redefine how we harvest, understand and coexist with the materials that surround us.
Oorn is a naturally ephemeral response to the grief experience. By casting cremated remains mixed with our shell bio-composite, the urn becomes more of an extension of the deceased rather than a static container. This shared materiality creates a synchronicity between human, object and nature - when the user feels ready for acceptance , oorn can be returned to the earth to dissolve alongside the soul that it holds.
Tyle is a community based initiative set up to create new accessible industry for coastal communities. This toolkit allows communities to utilise local shellfish waste and turn into a profitable revenue. Providing the knowledge and tools for users to process the materials, turn it into a workable material and press market ready tiles.
