Testing Ground: Dr Amy Cutler

Dr Amy Cutler, a trained geographer and artist, was the next practitioner to participate in Testing Ground, exploring Pendle with a particular focus on its fascinating past as an innovative place of experimentation. An example of this experimentation is the Barometer, a scientific instrument used to measure air pressure, that was central to influential tests on Pendle Hill during the 17th Century and used by Amy, in 2020, to distort camera lenses. Collecting documentation of our experience of the landscape, through sound recordings, photographs and a rain gauge that holds the winter’s first snowfall, Amy developed a prolific body of material.

It was our plan to share Amy’s work as an installation inside Corky, our travelling art space. Central to the installation would have been a spherical projector - invented and built by Amy - that projects images of the wilderness in all directions. However, Amy has adapted the work to be shared online, as COVID-19 restrictions will not allow for us to gather around an installation. An experimental planning diagram has now been made, using illuminous inks to map site specific light projections. Through the diagram, Amy welcomes audiences to travel through scientific and artistic findings that document an adventurous week in Pendle’s landscape.