Through my work, I observe the link between life's uneventful moments and nostalgic memories. I draw inspiration from my childhood in the Miami suburbs: it started by taking pictures of the neighborhood where I was born and raised on daily walks. Surrounded by townhouses, canals, and overpasses, life barely moved, every day felt the same, and I was constantly looking for ways to get out of the swamp and the chaotic home I lived in. I was a homeschooled kid from kindergarten until graduation, which meant there was too much free time. That free time was spent on video games, alternative rock, and finding any reason to leave the house to prowl around the neighborhood. Everything was at once stagnant and changing: chain-linked fences overgrown with plants and cracked sidewalks, streetlights that lit us under an amber haze every night, and the lakes I spent hours staring at. There were always small moments to notice in the trees, someone's lawn, lost trinkets on the ground, or someone noticing I was looking. All the while I was planning for the day I would leave Florida permanently. These are places that I miss now and with distance from the past, I look back with fondness for all the mundane details that are no longer part of my daily life.
After moving to Chicago, the work has extended into views of rural cemeteries as they share the same spirit of fleeting significance. Wandering exploration, photographing local sites, lite brujaria and pop culture research are part of my practice, informing my paintings and mixed media collages.
Rachel graduated from New World School of the Arts in 2017, followed by residencies with Walid Wahab Alumni Studios (2017 - 2018), and the Ou Gallery Residency (2019.) Group exhibitions include No Soy Eterno (Tactile Studio, 2024), Collabo6 (MANA Contemporary, 2019), Exposed (Art & Culture Center/Hollywood, 2019), Make It Nice Again (Mindy Solomon Gallery, 2017), New World North West (Amadlozi Gallery, 2017), A Pixel in Size (ArtCenter South Florida, 2017), Unbound (Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, 2017), and Unfolding: Series 1 (Miami Bienniale, 2016); solo exhibition Static Night (MANA Contemporary, 2018), and exhibition curated Everyday is Summer in collaboration with The Fountainhead Residency (2018.) Public art commissions include group collaborations with the Miami Parking Authority (2016), Aventura Mall (2017), and the Federal Reserve Bank Miami Branch (2018.) She currently lives and works in Chicago, IL and continues to drive her studio practice through video games and music.