Robbie Rowlands

Robbie Rowlands is a Melbourne-based Australian visual artist renowned for his sculptural interventions that explore themes of decay, memory, and transformation. Born in 1968, Rowlands studied sculpture at the Victorian College of the Arts and undertook an exchange at Pratt Institute in New York, where he began experimenting with site-specific installations in abandoned urban spaces. His practice involves precise, often surgical cuts into everyday structures—such as walls, floors, furniture, and industrial objects—revealing their inner frameworks and histories. These deconstructions invite viewers to reflect on the fragility and impermanence of built environments. Notable projects include Tread Lightly for This Ground May Be Hollow in Detroit and If This Light Can Hold at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. Rowlands’ work has been exhibited across Australia and internationally, and he is represented by Blackartprojects. He also lectures in sculpture and sound at RMIT University, contributing to the academic discourse on contemporary art practices.

The concept of ‘fabric’ holds dual significance in our lives—both as the material that clothes us and as a metaphor for the interwoven nature of society. A flag embodies these ideas through its materiality and symbolism, aligning diverse individuals under a shared representation.

In Limb, a tightly rolled section of fabric subtly reveals its origins as a flag. Only fragments—a stark white header, a hemmed edge, a partial star—remain discernible, leaving its alignment deliberately ambiguous. Within the severed lower section, sheared off at an angle any remaining symbolism is meshed together as one, appearing flesh like, intensified by the distinctive red color.  This ambiguity fosters a sense of distance, emphasizing the transformation through separation. As the title suggests, the piece resembles a severed extremity—once part of a larger whole. By highlighting the act of separation, Limb examines what is altered, lost, or redefined when something is removed from its original context.