 Sustainable aviation fuel is manufactured from sustainable feedstocks and is very similar in its chemistry to the traditional fossil jet fuel. The feedstocks used in the manufacturing process are cooking oil, non-palm waste oils from animals and plants, solid waste from homes and businesses including packaging, paper, textiles, and food scraps that would otherwise go to the landfill.  With the aviation industry expected to double their passenger intake to over 8 billion passengers by 2050, it is essential that the industry acts now to reduce its carbon emissions. Dependant on the particular feedstocks used to produce the type of sustainable aviation fuel, it has shown that nearly 80% of the carbon emissions can be reduced effectively. There are a few organisations who are leading the way in providing solutions for the aviation industry. They have varied methods and most are blended with traditional aviation fuel for safety and certification purposes. The sustainable and renewable fuels are already in circulation and in use with limited quantities. It’s a massive leap in the right direction.  The price of sustainable aviation fuel is significantly more than the traditional version. This is due to the limited availability of sustainable feedstocks. As the technology develops further the entire process is forecasted to become more efficient, so the expectation of the industry is that it that the cost will eventually level out and airlines would be able to pass on the savings to us as their customers.  According to IATA, sustainable aviation fuel will be a viable option for aircraft operators to meet their obligations under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). In 2016, the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreed on a Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) to reduce CO2 emissions from the aviation industry with a pilot phase from 2021–2023, followed by a first phase from 2024–2026.  The three major manufacturers of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are Neste from Finland, Gevo from the United States and Velocys from the United Kingdom. There are smaller private enterprises such as World Energies and Lanzatech who are also paving the way for the production of SAF.
It's not a belief system; it's observable scientific facts.  I created a melting ice crown for Zev to wear, in order to raise awareness and keep the conversations alive about the warming of our atmosphere and the devastating effect it’s having on our home planet. We as humans are absolutely destroying planet Earth without a shadow of doubt. I’ve lived a sustainable lifestyle as far back as I can remember and being kind to our planet was instilled into me from my childhood days. I may not be an activist who stands on the streets of cities with a megaphone, shouting about climate change, but I actively live a lifestyle that supports and nurtures our planet. I raise awareness through my art works and the melting Ice Crown that I’ve created for Zev will serve as a piece of art to encourage talks in a positive way. Besides... Zev is an Emperor and I think the crown rather suits him.  Scientists have shown us indisputable evidence that Planet Earth is warming up, and it’s linked directly to our activities and lifestyles as humans. The biggest cause in particular, the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.  The snows of Kilimanjaro have melted more than 80 percent since 1912. Glaciers in the Garhwali Himalaya in India are melting so fast that scientists believe that most Central and Eastern Himalayan glaciers would almost disappear by 2035. Arctic sea ice has thinned significantly over the past half century, with a recent decline of 10 percent in the past 30 years.  Spring freshwater ice breakup in the Northern Hemisphere now occurs 9 days earlier, and autumn freeze-up 10 days later. The melting of snow and frost has caused the ground to subside more than 15 feet in parts of Alaska. From the Arctic to Peru, from Switzerland to the equatorial glaciers of Man Jaya in Indonesia, giant ice fields, glaciers, and sea ice are disappearing, faster than ever before. We are close to the point of no return and our eco system becoming inhabitable.  Using 20 years of recently declassified satellite data, scientists have calculated that the world’s 220,000 mountain glaciers are losing more than 328 billion tons (298 billion metric tons) of ice and snow per year since 2015. This loss is a direct result of the increased levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.  Alaska’s melt rates are among the highest on the planet, with the Columbia glacier melting permanently around 115 feet (35 meters) a year. According to three-dimensional satellite measurements, glaciers around the world are melting faster, losing around 31% more snow and ice per year than they did 15 years ago. “Ten years ago, we were saying that the glaciers are the indicator of climate change, but now actually they’ve become a memorial of the climate crisis.” - Michael Zemp, World Glacier Monitoring Service Director.
I'm a visual dreamer when it comes to inspirations and aesthetics but very practical, when it comes to creating something. So, staying true to my creative process, in 2021, I did real life location tests for a few scenes, so I could start finalising the chapters and see what I needed to change within the process before filming the actual scenes. I know my capabilities and my limitations only too well, hence I never underestimate the amount of work that's required to produce something authentic and beautiful.  Tests are an important part of my brand's creative process. 99% of the time, no one gets to see the work I put in behind the scenes and how my studio gets filled up with things that I test with. I work with time lines months and years in advance, and even though sometimes it may seem as though I've just decided to create something out of the blue, I know how much time, planning and hard work has gone into the creative process before hand, to be able to have a finished product that I'm happy with. Test projects take an enormous amount of planning and a lot of time for post project evaluations to create the findings to improve the process. Whatever I create, I make sure that I spend the time for research and development, risk assessments, structured plans of time lines and carry out testing before I create and release the final products. That's my dedication and my uncompromising work ethics to build the best version of my brand that I possibly can. My creative process is a vital part of it all, because the end products are for the loyal followers of my brand, whom I value, and I take that as a serious responsibility by nurturing and paying attention to every little detail.
I play a little piano whenever I have some time, and since I'm a realist, I knew that taking a grand piano on the beach for filming and photoshoots for one of the scenes would be out of my capabilities and the movie budget, so I came up with an alternative idea and improvised. As a test project, I had a fold up baby grand piano shell made to fit my digital piano inside it. I was blown away by the finished shell, it looked amazing. From putting perspex wave breakers underwater to having flat pieces of wood beneath the sand as platforms for the piano feet and the stool, to working out camera angles whilst using smoke flares, on top of that, all the natural elements, such as birds flying, changing wind directions and spray from the sea. It was a weekend of learnings but I loved every minute of this test project. I took away those learnings to make the changes and fine tune my process for events to run smoothly when it comes to filming the actual scene. The feeling of sitting to play on the beach was pretty incredible, although my feet would somewhat disagree with that sentiment, as they were absolutely freezing in the ice cold sea.  When it comes to my relationship with science and art... I played with it, I teased myself with questions and puzzles that I had to solve, I explored it to the depths of my soul and I calculated it from every conceivable angle.  In 2012, I concluded that every part derives from my learnings of science and art as a child, from my grandparents and parents. That's when I knew how to develop my already existing JC brand further, and the specific marketing strategies I needed to create for the final stage of my brand development, so I designed my own branding lab as a second studio and I got to work. If we lived in the times where I-Robots were walking amongst us, I'd definitely build a futuristic lab and have a few I-Robots incorporated in my AI work flow, just like my artistic impression above.  I built the entirety of my brand concept on geometry, mainly on the most stackable shapes on planet Earth; cubes and cuboids. I also took inspirations from some aspects of the hexagon and some aspects from all the Platonic Solids. My branding model utilises the exact building blocks of everything we know as humans. How the Universe works, the science and the maths behind it, that supports not only the interactions of it, but vitally, the expansion of it. This concept has given me growth potential that's organic and multidimensional. I spent nearly 4 years, building the concept of my branding, marketing and my creative process, so upon completion of my formulas, I wanted to celebrate... which I did in true JC style with a cup of coffee, a cheesecake and an inspirational trip to the Indian Oceans. Between 2012 and 2016, I devoted every spare minute I had towards developing my brand design further, with the help of AI, based more on science and maths than anything else. Once I attained the completed formulas from my findings, I then applied my artistic vision to add the layers of my style. In 2016, I extended my branding lab to incorporate my mood board analysis area to extract my design formulas. Then the time came in 2017, to launch my first ever collection of JC Couture in the form of Resort Wear.  I have four colours at the heart of my brand. Each of them is of significance and has meaning to me. This is where my brand phrase "Everything I create has a meaning." originated from. Every one of my brand colours originate from my childhood in one form or the other and then more relevance were added to those colours through my life experiences over the years.  BLACK, because it intensifies colour, it's the depth and darkness of my character. Black is the distinct markings of the stealthy snow leopard. Black, because it signifies strength, rebellion and sophistication. Black, because it absorbs aggression, reflects mystery and evokes emotions. Black, for me, accentuates the beauty of elegance, it's the absolute and embraced for eternity. Black surpasses all.  WHITE, because it's pure and enhances beauty. White, because of my memories of the fragrant white flowers that grew in my childhood garden, it evokes memories of time. White, because of the marble used to construct the most beautiful monument of love... The Taj Mahal. White is the soft snowy wilderness where the snow leopards roam. White, because it illuminates the delicate strands of James' pearls, that adorn each collection. And white because it represents the purest of cotton and silkiest of satin sheets when it's time to dream and love.  RED, because it's the colour of passion, the colour of the fire that smoulders within me. Red because it represents courage and a daringly beautiful feeling of danger. Red, because it reminds me of the vibrant cathedral roses and the seduction of the deepest red piano roses in my garden. Red, because of the fiery sunsets during my childhood. And red, because it evokes curiosity, and it extends the invitation to get lost in lust.  GOLD, because it represents both the genuine and the imitation. Genuine gold that are the family treasures handed down to me and forever cherished. Imitation gold that I re-invent time and again with plating, to adorn the clasps and buckles of my collections. Gold because of the cultural festivals that intertwine my childhood. Gold, because it envelopes the wearer with a sun kissed glow and seduces the voyeur. Gold, because it dares to compliment the unity between black and white. Gold, because it's the signature of brand James Clarke.  |
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