Art & Nature — visual reflections on the living landscape

New Release!

Available January 2026

Ancient Rainforests - From Gondwana to the Vanua

Author: Dr Phillip B. Roös, PhD

Description:

"Ancient Rainforests – From Gondwana to the Vanua” is a catalogue of works by Dr Phillip B. Roös, recording the artist's journey through Australia's Otways rainforests and Fiji's Vanua Levu island’s vast tropical rainforests. It documents remnants of ancient Gondwanaland and the Vanua, showcasing a 'Nature Language', the paintings and scrolls map ecological memory and energy, revealing hidden patterns and ancestral wisdom in forest landscapes. This collection is an ecological storytelling effort to reconnect people with the land, body with biosphere, spirit with place, and being with belonging. The exploration of the forests began in 2021 in the Otways, where Dr Roös spent extended periods in the forest to document, sketch, analyse, and paint. This process included visual explorations, sensory experiences, and meditative mappings of the environment. The discovery continued for four years as the artist visited the Fiji Islands, exploring the tropical rainforests of Vanua Levu and creating works where nature’s soils and creek waters became part of the painting process. This resulted in a body of work comprising large paper scrolls, paintings, drawings, sketches, and examination notes of the place.

Release Date: 08 January 2026

Launch Date: 08 January 2026

Venue: Hoop Gallery, Torquay, VIC, Australia