SNEAK PEEK: Ruth Cuthand

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Ruth Cuthand, "COVID-19 Mask No. 3," 2020

glass beads, mask, thread and backing, 12" x 12" (collection of the artist; courtesy of the gallery/art placement inc.)

Over the last decade or so, Ruth Cuthand has built a remarkable body of beaded works about pathogens such as small pox, which exacted a terrible toll on Indigenous communities after European settlement.  

The recent arrival of another virus – COVID-19 – prompted Cuthand, a Saskatoon-based artist of Plains Cree and Scottish/Irish ancestry, to start a new series that focuses on the eerily spiked coronavirus. 

She also beaded several masks, which have become an enduring symbol of the global pandemic.

“I did a lot of research on the different viruses, and just became fascinated with it," Cuthand told CBC News. 

“I started looking at viruses that came when Europeans stepped onto the Americas, and ever since then I've been interested in diseases that affect Indigenous communities. So, COVID-19 just fit right in there.”

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Ruth Cuthand, "Surviving: COVID-19 No. 2", 2020

glass beads, thread and backing, 25"  x 19" (collection of the artist; courtesy of the gallery/art placement inc.)

Cuthand, a recipient of the 2020 Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, has previously beaded the pathogens that cause measles, typhus, cholera, chicken pox, whooping cough and influenza, among others. 

Another body of work saw her bead bacteria and parasites found in the water of First Nations that have boil-water advisories. She placed them in resin in various glass containers, including baby bottles.

Cuthand, who was born in Prince Albert, Sask., and grew up in Cardston, Alta., says she is fascinated with subjects that are simultaneously beautiful and abhorrent. ■ 

A virtual introduction to Ruth Cuthand's latest work can be seen on the Art Placement website in Saskatoon.

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