Rachel's practice seeks to explore and understand the statement "I am animal" in all its dimensions, examining the idea that humans, as embodied beings, are deeply entangled with the physical world. Our consciousness, emotions, and thoughts are interconnected with our bodies, nature, the earth, and the environments we inhabit. Through her work, Rachel explores the interconnectedness of humans and animals, challenging traditional boundaries and categories. As animals, we are fluid, complex, and inseparably linked to the natural world. Her practice focuses on hybridity, transformation, and resistance to normative biological and societal structures.
Drawing on the work of Donna Haraway, particularly her concept of Sympoiesis - “making with” or “collective creation” - Rachel emphasizes the collaborative processes of creation and existence, rejecting ideas of individuality or self-contained systems. She uses this framework to highlight the interdependence of all living and non-living entities, where life and systems are co-created through relationships and interactions. A spider building its web in a forest, for example, illustrates this idea: the silk, the tree branches, the ecosystem, and the spider itself all play roles in the web’s formation and function. In essence, sympoiesis underscores the collective, entangled nature of life and systems, reminding us that we are always “making-with” others.
Rachel’s practice also explores how animals adapt and distort themselves for survival, drawing parallels to how humans modify or conceal aspects of their identities to navigate a world that seeks to categorize and define them. By studying flora and fauna, as well as body and animal bones, Rachel creates fluid, abstract forms in her paintings and 3D works. These forms challenge fixed notions of identity, encouraging viewers to reconsider assumptions about who they are and how they belong.
Additionally, Rachel is influenced by cyborg feminism, which, as proposed by scholars like Haraway, challenges the boundaries between the human, animal, and machine. Cyborg feminism disrupts traditional notions of gender and identity by embracing hybrid forms and rejecting rigid categories. Rachel’s use of technology in her practice, such as 3D printing and robotic arms, aligns with these ideas, allowing her to create artworks that blur the lines between the organic and the artificial. This intersection of biological, technological, and societal forces reflects the ways in which identities are constructed and deconstructed in the modern world, emphasizing fluidity and the potential for transformation.
Drawing on the work of Donna Haraway, particularly her concept of Sympoiesis - “making with” or “collective creation” - Rachel emphasizes the collaborative processes of creation and existence, rejecting ideas of individuality or self-contained systems. She uses this framework to highlight the interdependence of all living and non-living entities, where life and systems are co-created through relationships and interactions. A spider building its web in a forest, for example, illustrates this idea: the silk, the tree branches, the ecosystem, and the spider itself all play roles in the web’s formation and function. In essence, sympoiesis underscores the collective, entangled nature of life and systems, reminding us that we are always “making-with” others.
Rachel’s practice also explores how animals adapt and distort themselves for survival, drawing parallels to how humans modify or conceal aspects of their identities to navigate a world that seeks to categorize and define them. By studying flora and fauna, as well as body and animal bones, Rachel creates fluid, abstract forms in her paintings and 3D works. These forms challenge fixed notions of identity, encouraging viewers to reconsider assumptions about who they are and how they belong.
Additionally, Rachel is influenced by cyborg feminism, which, as proposed by scholars like Haraway, challenges the boundaries between the human, animal, and machine. Cyborg feminism disrupts traditional notions of gender and identity by embracing hybrid forms and rejecting rigid categories. Rachel’s use of technology in her practice, such as 3D printing and robotic arms, aligns with these ideas, allowing her to create artworks that blur the lines between the organic and the artificial. This intersection of biological, technological, and societal forces reflects the ways in which identities are constructed and deconstructed in the modern world, emphasizing fluidity and the potential for transformation.