Taking its title from a 1927 Upton Sinclair novel, the single channel video Oil!, brings the viewer on a journey through the jerker line system, developed in the 1860s and still used today to draw crude oil from the wells. What begins as an ambiguous sculpture in motion is eventually revealed as a form of Rube Goldberg machine performing the straightforward task of extracting petroleum. The equipment runs day and night, throughout summer and winter.
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Andreas Rutkauskas’ artistic approach focuses on the cause and effect of a range of technologies on the perception,development, and exploitation of landscapes. Through the use of photography, video, and mapping, his recent projects address the impact of Internet-based research on wilderness recreation (Virtually There), cycles of industrialization and deindustrialization in Canada’s oil patch (Petrolia), and the subtle technologies used to survey the Canada/US border (Borderline). His work has been exhibited in solo and group contexts, including oslo8 contemporary photography in Basel, Gallery 400 in Chicago, The Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery in Sarnia, TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary, and The Foreman Art Gallery in Lennoxville. His project Virtually There will be featured in the upcoming 14th edition of Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal. Rutkauskas’ work has appeared in publications including Ciel Variable, ARTnews, and Canadian Art, and he has received grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canada Council for the Arts. Andreas currently lives in the Rocky Mountains and works as the photography facilitator at The Banff Centre.