Rachel Rinker

Perspective Is(n’t) Everything

Inspired by: Laura McPhee, The Blue Lagoon Evelyn Rydz, Gulf Pile

collage and acrylic on foam board

14″ x 20″

2023

My piece, Perspective Is(n’t) Everything, is a result of the accumulation of materials – my process is heavily rooted in upcycling and reducing studio waste. This speaks to Evelyn Rydz’s Gulf Pile, and a desire to showcase an awareness of consumer waste culture’s impact on the environment. I use intense layers in my work to accentuate history and human connectedness from an array of sources, whether incorporating junk mail, old house paint, or discarded party decorations. Though our sensibilities are quite different, Laura McPhee’s stunning photograph of The Blue Lagoon, Svartsengi Geothermal Pumping Station, Iceland is also inspiring and uplifting. Her composition is stunning and I relate to her sensibilities in highlighting this landscape that shows a very human cross over of natural and manmade infrastructure. I include the dichotomy of these things in my painting here, where elements of infrastructure sink into the larger landscape cut in half – sky, ground.

@rachelrinker1

Rachel Rinker

Sinful Colors Protect Me

acrylic and collage on canvas

20”x10”

2022

“Sinful Colors Protect Me” is loaded with a passion for protecting queer and trans bodies. There is a kind of armor often found in what people wear to be safer in public spaces. There is a hint of irony in “Sinful Colors” from the name of the golden nail polish color I use in this piece and the inclusion of an “America the Beautiful” national parks pass holder. With the dangerous and real fear that exists in this country of queer and trans bodies, comes “Protect Me.” Protect queer and trans lives because they matter, period (all fashion choices aside).

@rachelrinker1