'Rendered Other and Cast Out' by Elizabeth Cole

Next date: Friday, 04 September 2026 | 11:00 AM to 04:00 PM

A photo of a sculpture that resembles a whale bone, inside a clear acrylic case, on a stand against a white wall.

This multi-disciplinary exhibition reworks Antarctic and personal archival materials to warn of our uncertain future due to human-caused global warming. The five-part installation references the historic age of polar exploration, colonial-era whaling and the possible post-human consequences of inaction.

Inspired by museum and personal archives, the exhibition includes a video and soundscape, and handmade and cast sculptural objects in plaster, felt and wood. Works are arranged to offer shifting perspectives on human interaction with Antarctica.

The work Rendered Blank — a shadowy screen, sculpture and video based work — reflects colonial-era exploration of uncharted lands, epitomised by the heroic age of polar exploration in the early 1900s.

Rendered Silent responds to images of colonial-era whaling in the Southern Ocean. It features 3D printed and plaster cast whale ear bones based on Antarctic-related specimens held by Museum Victoria.

Rendered Corporeal warns of a possible future if we do not address global warming and the threat of rising sea levels. It consists of human-reptilian head shaped casts emerging from the metaphorical ocean depths.

Interlude — a suspended felt and aluminium sculpture with an embedded soundscape — is designed to elicit curiosity.

The book-bound Atlas, containing archival and personal images, offers an idiosyncratic contextual guide.

This poetic installation seeks to engage with both the heart and the head, and thereby prompt an embodied response that may open up the possibility for change.

Image credits: Elizabeth Cole, Rendered Other and Cast Out (detail), 2025, installation shot. Photograph by Astrid Mulder.

About the artist

Elizabeth Cole is a multi-disciplinary visual artist. Her process-led feminist practice is based on challenging inequitable power structures, overcoming vulnerability and celebrating resilience.

Elizabeth’s work is also informed by engagement with the natural world, and underpinned by an exploration of library and museum archives.

Elizabeth has a Master of Fine Art qualification from RMIT University, a Graduate Certificate of Visual Art from the Victorian College of the Arts, and a Diploma of Visual Art from RMIT University.

She has held one joint exhibition of paintings, and exhibited in over 20 group shows.

Instagram: @elizabethm.cole

Website: https://www.elizabethmcole.com

Exhibition celebration

Join the artist for the exhibition celebration event at Kingston Arts Centre, Moorabbin, on Thursday 3rd September from 6pm to 8pm. Including complimentary refreshments and nibbles.