Early Life and Education of Rosslynd Piggott

Rosslynd Piggott enters the world in Frankston, Victoria, in 1958. The landscape of her early years gives way to formal study at the University of Melbourne. Between 1977 and 1980, she navigates the academic rigors of the institution, honing the foundational skills that will eventually expand into a multi-disciplinary practice. The focus remains on the core elements of her craft during these formative years.

The trajectory shifts in 1981. Piggott moves from the university setting to the regional landscape of Werrimull, Victoria. She spends a year teaching in this remote area, a period of departure from the urban centers of her education. This stint in the country serves as a brief, transitional chapter before the pull of the city takes hold once more.

By 1982, the movement toward a professional life is complete. She returns to St. Kilda to begin her career as an artist. This return marks the definitive start of her creative output, moving away from the role of educator and into the dedicated pursuit of her own visual language.

Technique and Artistic Style

The work operates at the material thresholds where painting meets sculpture, drawing, and installation. Piggott moves through a wide variety of media, including photography, textiles, video, and glasswork. Her practice relies on a sophisticated technique and an acute sense of colour to navigate the space between the seen and the sensed. There is a deliberate focus on the poetics of space, often utilizing objects like nineteenth-century furniture, shoes, and garments to build complex installations.

Themes of symbolism and surrealism anchor her visual language. She explores a dream-like state where the notion of the uncanny remains a constant companion. This approach seeks a synaesthetic sensory encounter, aiming for a moment where visual lushness suggests the presence of smell or taste. The imagery often avoids direct figuration, instead using layers of material to suggest the ephemeral qualities of the natural world.

In recent years, this exploration has extended into delicate glass sculptures created in collaboration with artisans on Murano island, Venice. These works, alongside her paintings on linen, often incorporate unexpected materials such as gold leaf, palladium leaf, mother of pearl, and thread. The resulting compositions often feel as though they are caught in a state of flux, bridging the gap between the physical object and the internal realm of memory and imagination.

Major Exhibitions and Career Highlights

The trajectory of Piggott's career is marked by over 60 solo exhibitions that have moved through significant institutional spaces. In 1997, her presence expanded internationally with exhibitions at the Kitamoto Cultural Centre in Saitama, Japan, and the Mori Gallery in Sydney. This period of activity continued as her work reached ARCO O2 in Madrid and the 1999 Liverpool Biennial. These appearances established a footprint that spans continents, bridging the gap between local Australian galleries and global art events.

The National Gallery of Victoria has served as a primary site for her retrospective examinations. In 1998, the institution hosted Rosslynd Piggott: Suspended Breath. Two decades later, in 2019, the gallery returned to her practice with a second retrospective titled I Sense You But I Cannot See You. This later exhibition drew upon many of her artworks retrieved from the NGV collection, bringing a long-standing body of work back into the public light.