Place, Knowing and Being by Christopher Robertson

It is with great pleasure that Bilk Gallery is showcasing a recent collection of works by Christopher Robertson, that were submitted as part of his practice lead research for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the Australian National University. These works include flatware and furniture as well as a selection of brooches from Robertson’s prior oeuvre. 
 
Robertson’s PHD thesis explores the links, potential dialogue and philosophical views on nature between art critic, social thinker and writer John Ruskin (1819 - 1900); Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto (1898 - 1976) as well as the artists own approach to practice.    
 
Christopher says “I trace both a penetrating description of a ‘created’ cosmology for architecture and design expounded by John Ruskin at the very point of point of its decline with the rise of scientific materialism/reductionism as a replacement cosmology that gains traction following Darwin’s theory of evolution.” 
 
Christopher in his research looked at the intermediate tension between the two cosmologies outworked by architects and designers of the period as they engage/disengage the shift with a focus on the early modernist Finnish architect Alvar Aalto to show what we might learn for the present.  The works on display are the resulting outcomes from these explorations.