Jesse Crabtree Butterfield
About
Based in London, I'm a designer and researcher with a background in graphic and digital product design. My design process is driven by curiosity in the landscapes and systems that products sit in. Rabbit holes are an integral part of my practice; whether a line from a book, an archival image, or a niche industrial process, projects began from a state of inquisitiveness. Only from a deep understanding of the systems that objects sit do I feel I can begin to design.
Statement
For a larger majority of the world, our material catalog is one of abundance. Our days are filled with interaction with thousands of objects. From when we wake up in the morning to the moment we go to bed we are in consistent contact with the built environment. As designers, it is our job to understand how these things are produced, interact with people, and change larger systems as a whole.
Nature
Our history as a design profession cannot be uncoupled from our inexhaustible consumption of the natural world. The materials we require drive the exhaustion of resources as well as the destruction of habitat. The production and logistics of manufacturing are an accelerator of climate change. Our waste streams are polluting our land, water, and air. The choices we make as designers impact all of this, we must understand where and how we are impacting the natural world.
Culture
In a globalized society, a designer must understand the cultures where products live and where they are produced. Products can represent or play a role in power dynamics that are inherent in the social-economic politics of place. To insert “things” within culture is to be influenced and to influence.
Systems
As products are far from local, they are entwined in huge systems of government, finance, and industry. This leads to the impeding of individual control over the “hyperobjects” such as climate change and social inequality. Designers cannot solve these issues, but with the inclusive involvement of seemingly unrelated groups, we can find leverage points to move toward a more loving and just world.
Nuclear Landscape
National Nuclear Football League
The production of nuclear power is usually a safe constant way of producing energy. However small the risk of nuclear disaster or radiation leakage is there. People who live near nuclear plants do not live in a state of constant anxiety about nuclear power, people can get used to anything. The creation of the National Nuclear Football League aims to engage communities with these complex discussions of risk/reward from nuclear power and to connect seemingly disparate landscapes to each other.
A series of objects related to football memorabilia; scarfs, trophies, medals, banners, and foam-finger were produced to engage local makers and create an identity for this nuclear league.
Sandcast Football Medals
The medals were made in Middlesbrough in the Hartlepool Nuclear landscape. It was made by Dave and Tom from William Lane Foundry.
Mild Steel Football Trophy
The trophy was made in Adelburgh in the Sizewell Nuclear landscape. It was made by Dennis Pegg and his father at J T Pegg and Sons.
Landscape Banners
Banners for each nuclear landscape were created to represent the ecology and historical and contemporary culture of the area. Heat transferred fabric photographs of each power station are sewn into the banner, with elements of areas heraldic symbols and slogans surrounding it. The rest of the banner is populated with historical industry, flora, fauna, crafts, and vernacular architecture. This imagery was gathered through site visits and interviews with locals.
Foamfinger and Scarf
The foamfinger was cut at The Foam Shop south of Hinkley Point. On one side is the map of the different nuclear landscapes and the other is the National Nuclear League symbol.
The scarfs were woven on jacquard in the Heysham nuclear landscapes. Woven into each scarf is the architecture of the nuclear plants themselves.