About Rachel

Baltimore City
Bio:
Rachel Guardiola is an interdisciplinary artist and naturalist. Her studio practice investigates the intersection of art, science, and technology with a focus on the human relationship to wilderness through lens based analog and digital media. Rachel has exhibited internationally with List í Ljósi, The Halide Project, Rhizome DC, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Wassaic Project, Analog Cookbook, Dakar Biennale de l’Art Contemporain, Sydney College of the Arts, Light City Baltimore,… more

Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)

2015. 16 mm film, video, projection, hand cranked optical soundtrack, vitrines, objects. 5 min. 30 sec.

The projection is adapted to the architecture of each site to create an immersive environment. 
The projection is presented with objects and text that function as signifiers to the landscape in the film. The objects in vitrines are situated between the projection source and wall to obstruct the pathway of light. As a result silhouettes are cast upon the projection and imagery from the projection is dispersed around the space to create an environment for the narrative to be experienced. The work at large is activated by the viewer as they physically navigate and piece together clues that unfold the history. The physical act of exploration plays a significant role in my practice, utilizing the mechanical functions of the camera to mimic the means in which the body relates to its environment. The perspective, sequence, and rhythm in which technology is used, relates back to a reference point of the universal onlooker navigating an future past topography.  
 
  • Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    2015. 16 mm film, video, projection, hand cranked optical soundtrack, vitrines, objects. 5 min. 30 sec.
  • Intro the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    Intro the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    2015. installation shot KAGRO
  • Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    2015. installation shot KAGRO
  • Intro the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    Intro the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    2015. installation shot KAGRO
  • Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    2016. installation shot Light City Baltimore National Aquarium
  • Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    2015. 16 mm film still
  • Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    2015. 16 mm film still
  • Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
    2015. 16 mm film still

Other Earths

2014-16. chromogenic color prints. dimensions variable
Other Earths is a collection of photography functioning as artifacts that explore an ambiguous future past universe. Color negative, non-camera, and experimental darkroom processes combine different imagery into invented compositions of other planetary landscapes. 
  • Figure 32
    Figure 32
    2014. diptych; archival pigment prints. 24 x 30" each
  • Specimen #2518
    Specimen #2518
    2014. archival pigment print. 27 1/2 x 40"
  • Terrain IV
    Terrain IV
    2014. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 8 x 10"
  • Terrain V
    Terrain V
    2014. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 8 x 10"
  • Terrain VI
    Terrain VI
    2014. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 8 x 10"
  • Terrain X
    Terrain X
    2014. archival pigment print. 24 x 30"
  • Terrain IX
    Terrain IX
    2014. archival pigment print. 24 x 30"
  • Terrain VII
    Terrain VII
    2014. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 8 x 10"
  • Terrain I & II
    Terrain I & II
    2016. diptych; unique chromogenic color prints (darkroom prints). 20 x 24" each
  • Figure. 33
    Figure. 33
    2014. archival pigment print. 30 x 30"

The Adventures of the Investigator & Madam VEGA

2016-present. video performance series 
From October 2016 to January 2017, I conducted a four month stint of travel in the Arctic Circle during the period of darkness, when the sun sinks below the horizon. During this time, I wandered remote landscapes where I began to develop a fantastical narrative. The video performances exhibit different time traveling characters that explore an alternate planetary environment prompted by sensorial responses to the environment that occurred during the act of physical exploration. Characters perform different activities based upon their own specialized mode of understanding the universe through sense and logic. Since the initial visit, I have returned and continue to work at specific sites on this ongoing project. 


  • Measuring a Mountain
    2016-17. video performance. 1 min. 33 sec.
  • Testing the Vibrations of Water
    2016-17. video performance. 3 min. 24 sec. guest performance by artist Kristín Sigurðardóttir
  • Snow Swimming, Navigating Fallen Sky
    2016-17. video performance. 40 sec.
  • The Distance of Water
    2016-17. video performance. 58 sec.
  • Madam VEGA's Cabbage Patch
    2016-17. video performance. 1 min. 48 sec. code: 4883
  • Measuring the Gait of the Lost 'Arctodus simus'
    Measuring the Gait of the Lost 'Arctodus simus'
    video performance still
  • Echolocations of an Ancient Sea
    Echolocations of an Ancient Sea
    video performance still
  • VEGA Infiltrates Leftover Lab Part I
    VEGA Infiltrates Leftover Lab Part I
    video performance still
  • VEGA Infiltrates Leftover Lab Part II
    VEGA Infiltrates Leftover Lab Part II
    video performance still
  • Excavating the Golden Ribs
    Excavating the Golden Ribs
    video performance still

The Last Secret Water Room

2015. unique chromogenic color prints . 8 x 10" each

In a light tight room a series of images of utopian landscapes were projected with a combination of choreographed. Different sized homemade pin hole cameras were placed inside the room. Each containing color photo sensitive paper, a series of exposures from 5 to 25 min. were made. The recorded projections create new compositions that materialize through the magic of photography. The series is inspired by a scene in the Dune trilogy by Frank Herbert where a seer contemplates the temptation of a hidden paradise in midst of a planet surrounded by desert wasteland.


  • Pin-Hole #1
    Pin-Hole #1
    2015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
  • Pin-hole #2
    Pin-hole #2
    2015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
  • Pin-hole #3
    Pin-hole #3
    2015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
  • Pin-hole #4
    Pin-hole #4
    2015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
  • Pin-hole #5
    Pin-hole #5
    2015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
  • Pin-hole #6
    Pin-hole #6
    2015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
  • Pin-hole #7
    Pin-hole #7
    2015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
  • Pin-hole #8
    Pin-hole #8
    2015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"