Carla Gottgens

Memory Pools 2024–25

Aluminium, mirrored Alucobond, self-adhesive vinyl, resin, acrylic sheeting, and recycled pool ladders
Five parts: 100 x 120 x 120 cm

About the Work

Placed along the beach, Carla Gottgens’ five Memory Pools appear to be portals in the ground that offer a window into another time and place. They seem to showcase what may be lost in the future—becoming nothing more than a memory. Each pool transports the viewer to a disappeared world that once held old growth forests, vibrant coral reefs, healthy ice floes, and natural formations. Using photography and layered panels, Gottgens creates an optical illusion for viewers to experience and ponder, addressing possible lost narratives of our Earth’s future and past.

About the Artist

Carla Gottgens is a multidisciplinary artist from Naarm (Melbourne). Her art practice includes two- and three-dimensional artworks, covering a diverse range of materials from steel, acrylic forms, and timber to glass and printed materials.

With a background in photography, Carla strives to find unique ways that photography can be used within sculptural forms and the outdoor environment.

Her art practice is driven by the desire for audiences to interact with her artworks, and they are often referred to as fun, colourful, and quirky.

Her artworks have been exhibited across Australia in outdoor and indoor exhibition spaces. Her commissioned permanent work can be found in Townsville, Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne, and in regional areas of NSW and Victoria.