statement
I create intimate and theatrical worlds to articulate the interior experiences of shame, anxiety and desire and how these feelings intersect with public politics and social institutions. Working across performance, video, sculpture, text and social engagement, I mine the potential of empathic character-based storytelling to make legible these intimate interiors. Through humor, the absurd, and personal confession, I disarm and invite others to confront their own sources of emotional discomfort with me.
I approach each project through non-linear modes of storytelling, asking questions born from deep explorations of gender, language and environment. My investigations are set in handmade worlds that conjure familiar craft and household materials – cardboard, construction paper and papier mache appeal to a sense of play, openness and vulnerability that fosters engagement and empathy. As my recent work continues to explore the affective experiences of climate crisis, I shift from internal to external dialogue and create spaces that invite people to build these languages together.
bio
Rachel graduated from Macalester College (Saint Paul, MN) with a BA in Theatre Arts. Since then she has focused primarily in performance, video and sculpture. Her work as been shown at various film festivals and exhibitions nationally and internationally. Her current body of work explores how to build productive public conversations, narratives and vocabularies about the emotional experiences of climate change through video, performance, interactive installation, and writing. She also hosts the monthly Bring Your Own Film, a film/video open mic in Brooklyn. She is a recipient of the Brooklyn Arts Council’s Community Arts Fund, the Brooklyn Arts Council’s Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide (SPARC) Grant, and has been granted residencies at Prairie Center of the Arts, The Studios of Key West, Crosshatch’s Hill House, The Ucross Foundation, NARS International Residency Program and Saltonstall Foundation For the Arts.