Exhibition explores rainforest history

HOOP Gallery’s next exhibition will explore the enduring presence of ancient rainforest systems and the ecological narratives embedded within them.

Dr Phillip B. Roös developed Ancient Rainforests — From Gondwana to Vanua through extended field engagement with the Otway Forests and the rainforests of Vanua Levu Island.

Tracing a lineage from the primordial landscapes of Gondwana to contemporary forest environments, Roos’ practice investigates “Nature’s Language” — a sensory and interconnected system through which ecological memory, energy, and ancestral knowledge are conveyed beyond spoken forms.

The exhibition features sketches, drawings, paintings, and large-scale paper scrolls that map visible and invisible networks within forest landscapes.

Together, these works function as a form of ecological storytelling, seeking to reconnect land with body, biosphere with spirit, and place with belonging.

Roös is an artist, author, architect, and environmental philosopher whose practice is inspired by nature’s rhythms, forms, and hidden patterns.

Deeply rooted in biophilia (the innate human connection to nature), his work spans drawing, painting, sculpture, and immersive installations, reflecting a profound reverence for Earth’s living systems.

His work is shaped by a spiritual bond with the natural world, translating ecological memory and energy into visual narratives that invite reflection and reconnection.

Roös’ large-scale scrolls and abstract landscapes evoke the sacredness and vulnerability of place, informed by his research into biophilia and the development of a biophilic pattern language.

Merging science, philosophy, and art, his practice functions as ecological storytelling, aiming to restore relationships between people and the land.

Ancient Rainforests — From Gondwana to Vanua will be open until February 1 at Hoop Gallery at The MAC, 77 Beach Road, Torquay.

An opening night event will take place tonight (Friday, January 9) from 6pm to 8pm.