In her latest exhibition I ate the apple, but it was not enough, Ōtepoti Dunedin artist Charlotte Robertson explores personal mythology, questions the meaning of the Garden of Eden in contemporary life and alchemises collective shadow into a source code for spiritual awakening and evolution of consciousness.
Through her process of divining imagery and following bread crumb trails through meditation and shamanic journeying, Robertson weaves a world in which she and others can belong, and writes a playbook on how to make meaning of life.
The apple from the Garden of Eden has been eaten and found to not satiate the artist's hunger, nor answer questions about gender roles, aging, desirability and modern life. In this body of work the paintings become a vehicle to distill the darkness of the human psyche into a pearl of wisdom and hope, to be held tenderly in the viewer's palm.
Taking cues from YouTube thirst trap videos, traditional American folk art tapestry, medieval alchemy texts and her animist worldview, Robertson has developed a unique visual language full of symbolism, dark humour and multilayered meaning.
In response to Charlotte’s work, independent art historian, critic and journalist Joanna Osborne has written an essay, this can be read here
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YouTube Workout
Oil on plywood, 920mm x 785mm, Framed with Rimu, 2025/26
$7,000
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Offering to the Gods
Oil on plywood, 705mm x 665mm, Framed with Rimu, 2025
$5,000
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Let her rest
Oil on plywood, 610mm x 615mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$4,500
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You look cute when you’re breaking apart
Oil on plywood, 610mm x 620mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$4,500
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Memento Vivere
Oil on canvas, 1220mm x 1524mm, 2026
$10,000
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Meeting point
Oil on plywood, 620mm x 715mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$5,500
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Sparkling bones lend themselves to great strength
Oil on plywood, 620mm x 715mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$5,500
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Icons
Oil on plywood, 610mm x 710mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$5,500
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SOLD - Earth, ash, bone
Oil on plywood, 425mm x 520mm, Framed in Kwila, 2025
$2,400
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SOLD - I built a world and a place to be
Oil on plywood, 415mm x 510mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$2,400
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SOLD - By your hand, only. (Hand of the alchemist)
Oil on plywood, 415mm x 510mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$2,400
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The girls encounter the Volcano of Becoming
Oil on plywood, 365 x 385, Framed in rimu, 2026
$1,800
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I ate the apple, but it was not enough (here come the comets)
Oil on plywood, 360mm x 385mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$1,800
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I ate the apple, but it was not enough (Spirals and harmony)
Oil on plywood, 360mm x 385mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$1,800
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Give me a constraint and I will Burn it Down
Oil on plywood, 365 x 385, Framed in rimu, 2026
$1,800
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Adam and eve
Oil on plywood, 350mm x 370mm, Framed with Canadian oregon, 2025
$1,800
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Insertion
Oil on plywood, 210mm x 210mm, Framed in Oregon, 2026
$550
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SOLD - A butterfly and its tender wing, is a gateway to another world. (Save me a star)
Oil on plywood, 210mm x 210mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$550
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SOLD - The blesses and the curses (choose your path)
Oil on plywood, 210mm x 210mm, Framed in rimu, 2026
$550
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SOLD - A butterfly at my throat
Oil on plywood, 210mm x 210mm, Framed in beech, 2026
$550