ArtsHub gives Ross & Rothwell: in the same boat a 5-star review

16 Apr 2024

Gina Fairley, ArtsHub’s National Visual Arts Editor writes, “Across her work, Rothwell calls on materials, and their patina of history, to give weight to her narratives, which are at once abstracted and yet familiar enough to evoke emotion in viewing audiences.”

Caroline Rothwell’s practice explores the intersection of art and science through sculpture, collaged historical prints and digital animations that invite viewers to consider our relationship with the natural environment. The title of her exhibition, which was commissioned for Hazelhurst Arts Centre, came from the idea of looking to the horizon – looking out from an immediate frame of reference to the infinite and considering future possibilities.

In this duo-exhibition with Joan Ross at Ngununggula, the artists reference colonial artists and botanists to give voice to the urgent matters of our time through humorous and intelligent critics of these historical accounts. While their works contemporise history, they also reveal the impacts and consequences of our existence, encouraging us to consider the legacy we’re destined to leave if left without action.

Fairley continues about Rothwell’s bronze forms in the show, “While on one hand the works are perfectly balanced, as with the limbs of a tree, on the other they also point to our desire to control and force nature to align with our desires for gain. Rothwell offers an elegant and subtle debate on both our climate emergency, and our role within it.”

Ross & Rothwell: in the same boat is ongoing at Ngununggula, Southern Highlands Regional Gallery, Bowral, through 5 May 2024

Image: Installation of Caroline Rothwell’s works in ‘Ross & Rothwell: In The Same Boat’ at Ngununggula. Photographed by Document Photography. Courtesy of the artists and Ngununggula.