Charlotte Robertson

“I ate the apple, but It was not enough” 11.09.26 - 03.10.26

In Charlotte’s 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 and critic Joanna Osborne has written an essay, this can be read on our website here

You can view Charlotte’s available work here