RANDY LEE CUTLER: OTOH – CAPTURE 2021

OTOH
April 24–May 29, 2021
Hours: Tues – Sat, 12 – 5

Click here to view the exhibition PDF

OTOH (On the Other Hand) is a collage series that began in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. As thoughts of hand washing, fear of touching surfaces and a general lack of physical intimacy informed daily life, Cutler found herself constructing a visual syntax that embraced ciphers, sign language and writing across diverse cultures. Working with gifted and thrifted national geographic magazines, she embraced the virus by channelling its RNA code to cast spells through hieroglyphic forms. By bringing disparate elements together into new configurations, an emergent lexicon is cast of human gestures and cultural artifacts. These sparse, abstract images operate as a kind of writing, open to interpretation while resonating our shared desire for pattern, recognition and meaning. The series, comprised of more than 70 images represent a form of personal intuition that is likely a collaboration with the unconscious. Each collage evades understanding while simultaneously inviting a personal connection to its message.

Randy Lee Cutler is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice weaves together themes of collaboration, materiality, science and fiction. Working with printed matter, collage, video, and performance, she has shown work at numerous venues nationally and internationally. Exhibitions and performances include the Biennale of Sydney NIRIN 2020, Belkin Art Gallery (UBC Outdoor Artwork) and Vancouver Art Gallery among others. She recently published An Elemental Typology an artist book exploring the cultural configurations of minerals in philosophy, mining, science and spirituality. Randy is a Professor at Emily Carr University on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh).

Website: randyleecutler.com

Instagram: theoryisland

This exhibition is part of the 2021 Capture Photography Festival Selected Exhibitions Program