Randy Lee Cutler
Born:
1964 in Montreal, Canada
Lives in:
Vancouver, Canada
Encouraging a non-linear and multivalent encounter with crystal formations and their human relationships, Randy Lee Cutler’s Mineral Collection unfolds across: SaltWalks, three performative walks sharing unique stories about this ubiquitous mineral; Rock Album, a sound work exploring deep time, mineral extraction and medicine; and The Underworld, a series of three poster artworks, available each month during the 22nd Biennale from the Mineral Garden – a collaborative installation with Andrew Rewald which acts as a speculative portal into the hyper-terrestrial, presenting hybridised narratives and connections. Overall, Cutler’s project considers the ubiquitous presence of minerals in daily life, existing and interacting within our bodies, the foods we eat and the technologies we use. Taking the metaphor of the geological dig, Mineral Collection mines for stories and connections from the past, present and future to better contemplate our human interactions with these earthly deposits.
A collaboration at the National Art School between Randy Lee Cutler and Andrew Rewald, Mineral Garden, is a speculative portal that takes the viewer through an alternative spacetime of hyper terrestriality. Glints and facets of these realms are revealed through the entanglement of collages, posters, mineral specimens and archival objects. A reading area supports the project with significant books that have inspired the collaboration. Mineral Garden hybridises botanical organisms in the soil and the geological forms beneath our feet to cultivate narrative pasts, alternative presents and possible futures. The installation speculates on the secret life of plants and minerals, revealing their hybridised potential for emergent worlds and lifeforms Randy Lee Cutler is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice weaves together themes of collaboration, materiality, science and fiction. Taking the form of walks, performance, collage, printed matter, installation, video, audio and creative writing, she has produced numerous hybrid projects that engage with conversation and research.
Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with assistance from Canada Council for the Arts and the Consulate General of Canada in Sydney
Randy Lee Cutler and Andrew Rewald, Mineral Garden, 2019-20. Installation view for the 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020), National Art School. Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with assistance from Canada Council for the Arts and the Consulate General of Canada in Sydney. Courtesy the artists; Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney; and Christine Myerscough. Photograph: Alex Robinson
Randy Lee Cutler Mineral Collection, 2019-20. Installation view for the 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020), National Art School. Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with assistance from Canada Council for the Arts and the Consulate General of Canada in Sydney. Courtesy the artist. Photograph: Alex Robinson
“Mineral Collection explores the presence of minerals in our daily environments and their profound but often unacknowledged effect on our experiences. Using a variety of media and participatory events, the project maps the physical structures, geographies and biological effects of minerals, showing how they work as the invisible building blocks of our bodies and technologies.”