PhD, Fine Art, Goldsmiths, University of London
Mike Cooter is an artist, writer, lecturer, and educator based in London. His work investigates the structural agency of objects, be they sculpture, cinematic props or other anthropological artefacts – objects co-opted or created to drive narratives, fictional or otherwise. He holds a PhD from Goldsmiths, University of London for his thesis on ‘MacGuffins’ - a type of narratively-structured and socially-organising artefact rendered in film and literary works. Through his doctoral thesis, MacGuffins emerge as ontologically curious entities that appear to exist in co-dependent relationships with the social configurations they compose. His current research interests include the history of exhibitions and display; ontology and new theories of objects and materiality; the presentation of anthropological and socially fabricated artefacts in contemporary art and museum collections – including questions of instrumentalisation, interpretation and repatriation; the sociology of science and theories of invention; animation, experimental and industrial film and new media; and post-modernity in art, architecture, literature and design. His writing has been published by Art Agenda, Mousse, The Exhibitionist and Princeton University Press (forthcoming) amongst others. Since 2016 he has taught Critical Studies at Goldsmiths (London), Contextual Studies on the MA in Experimental Film at Kingston University, and lectures internationally, most recently at Princeton University (USA), the Academy of Media Arts (Cologne) and Ashkal Alwan (Lebanon). As a production manager, technician and fabricator he has been involved in the preparation of over 150 exhibitions in commercial galleries and public institutions. Recent exhibitions of his artistic practice have taken place at the New Walk Museum, Leicester (UK), Swiss Institute (New York), Stroom Den Haag (The Hague), 31st Biennial of Graphic Arts (Ljubljana), Boghossian Foundation / Villa Empain (Brussels), Tenderpixel (London), Witte de With (Rotterdam), CIAJG (Guimarães) and Arquipélago (Azores).
