About Rachel
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
Archeologies of VEGA's Garden
These images display horticultural glimpses of various flora in Madam VEGA’s garden. The images are made by transforming a living greenhouse set into views of an otherworldly forest through multiple exposure, additive color mixing, and experimental color darkroom processes. Madam VEGA is a horticultural pirate and keeper of a hidden garden where she is re-propagating extinct species on a desolate planet.
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden #102018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden #5 & 62017. diptych; unique chromogenic color prints (darkroom prints). 20 x 24" each
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden #42017. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden #132018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden #142018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden #152018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archeologies from VEGA's Garden #12017. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden #112018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden #82018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archeologies from VEGA's Garden #22017. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
Cryptoflora Viewing Boxes + Archeologies of VEGA's Garden
Four viewing stations offer glimpses into the propagation room and workstation of Madam VEGA. The videos are made barely accessible and are positioned at different heights to give off the feeling of observing something hidden, or peering at acts done in secrecy. Aromas of fantastical plants subject to experimentation can be smelled from within.
2018. chromogenic color prints (darkroom prints). 20 x 24”
These images display horticultural glimpses of various flora in Madam VEGA’s garden. The images are made by transforming a living greenhouse set into views of an otherworldly forest through multiple exposure, additive color mixing, and experimental color darkroom processes. Madam VEGA is a horticultural pirate and keeper of a hidden garden where she is re-propagating extinct species on a desolate planet.
(works exhibited together)
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How to Pollinate a Hybrid2017. video, viewing box, oils extracted from various native and plant species. 39 x 15 x 15"
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Cryptoflora Viewing BoxesPetri Germination Methods for an Extinct Flower Somniferic spuomel var. officinalis Common Name: Sleepy Spitting Honey Flower 2017-18. video, viewing boxes, oils extracted from various plant species. 60 x 15 x 15" Video: https://vimeo.com/250699298 Artificial Hybridization Survival Techniques Nigellapiper chitin Common Name: Exoskeletal Fat Pepper Plant 2017-18. video, viewing boxes, oils extracted from various plant species. 48 x 15 x 15" Video: https://vimeo.com/252271397 Assisting an Asexually Reproducing Plant Nymphaea hermamusa Common Name: Spotted Epicenic Water Lily 2017-18. video, viewing boxes, oils extracted from various plant species. 36 x 15 x 15" Video: https://vimeo.com/256592091 photography courtesy of Arlington Arts Center
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Petri Germination Methods for an Extinct Flower(detail) Petri Germination Methods for an Extinct Flower Somniferic spuomel var. officinalis Common Name: Sleepy Spitting Honey Flower 2017-18. video, viewing boxes, oils extracted from various plant species. 60 x 15 x 15" Video: https://vimeo.com/250699298
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden2018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden2018. diptych; unique chromogenic color prints (darkroom prints). 20 x 24" each
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden2018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden2018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden2018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden2018. chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
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Archaeologies from VEGA's Garden2018. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 20 x 24"
VEGA Project Bio-MYNE
2016. Installation, video performance from live stream. 4 min. 32 sec.
This performance was originally presented as a one hour live stream from a remote location. The performance includes rituals and horticultural activities conducted by Madam VEGA, cyborg and bio-pirate belonging to an ongoing fictional narrative on an other earth planet.
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.
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Measuring a Mountain2016-17. video performance. 1 min. 33 sec.
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Testing the Vibrations of Water2016-17. video performance. 3 min. 24 sec. guest performance by artist Kristín Sigurðardóttir
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Snow Swimming, Navigating Fallen Sky2016-17. video performance. 40 sec.
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The Distance of Water2016-17. video performance. 58 sec.
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Madam VEGA's Cabbage Patch2016-17. video performance. 1 min. 48 sec. code: 4883
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Measuring the Gait of the Lost 'Arctodus simus'video performance still
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Echolocations of an Ancient Seavideo performance still
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VEGA Infiltrates Leftover Lab Part Ivideo performance still
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VEGA Infiltrates Leftover Lab Part IIvideo performance still
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Excavating the Golden Ribsvideo performance still
Elegy for Sternidae in a Seafarer Haven
Elegy for Sternidae in a Seafarer Haven was captured during a period of travel in the Arctic Ocean surrounding Svalbard.The video is continual and never ending to give off the uneasy feeling of being alone at sea. The title is inspired by an old English poem The Seafarer written by an unknown author. The poem is a meditation told from the perspective of a solitary traveler to another, and the experience of both liberation and terror during journeys through the ocean. Radio signals spoken by a Danish crew reply back and forth as the only connection to kinsmen, physically absent as missed channels. There is an analogy of the sea to mythological bodies of water containing the ghosts of generations prior that reside permanently in the wilderness. The video is presented as a large scale projection in a black box space.
Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)
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.
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Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)2015. 16 mm film, video, projection, hand cranked optical soundtrack, vitrines, objects. 5 min. 30 sec.
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Intro the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)2015. installation shot KAGRO
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Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)2015. installation shot KAGRO
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Intro the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)2015. installation shot KAGRO
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Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)2016. installation shot Light City Baltimore National Aquarium
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Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)2015. 16 mm film still
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Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)2015. 16 mm film still
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Into the Zone (Anthology of Accounts & Findings)2015. 16 mm film still
Other Earths
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.
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Figure 322014. diptych; archival pigment prints. 24 x 30" each
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Specimen #25182014. archival pigment print. 27 1/2 x 40"
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Terrain IV2014. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 8 x 10"
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Terrain V2014. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 8 x 10"
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Terrain VI2014. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 8 x 10"
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Terrain X2014. archival pigment print. 24 x 30"
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Terrain IX2014. archival pigment print. 24 x 30"
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Terrain VII2014. unique chromogenic color print (darkroom print). 8 x 10"
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Terrain I & II2016. diptych; unique chromogenic color prints (darkroom prints). 20 x 24" each
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Figure. 332014. archival pigment print. 30 x 30"
Lakeland Chronicles
“Lakeland Chronicles” was a solo exhibition inspired by the means in which we create document, locate artifact, and construct histories. The exhibition included a series of black and white silver gelatin photographs mounted on wooden panels and small individual shelves containing fastened magnifying glasses for viewing the details of the images. The photographs were originally selected from the Library of Congress, digitally modified to extract information, and transferred to digital negatives used for darkroom printing. To each photograph, characters and objects were omitted. The center of the gallery was location to two 4 sq. ft. museum platforms housing two object arrangements. The first platform contained the omitted objects from the photographs that were either fabricated or found, while the adjacent platform contained plaster footprints made with forensic techniques used to track down unknown persons. Numbers under the photographs corresponded to those on the platforms, to draw the connection between the image and evidence. In the vicinity of the photographs, poetic, directional text, and handout of a map to offer further clues to the stories while leaving the narratives open for interpretation. I see this piece an as a playful excavation. Objects are presented using museum vernacular that reinstates truth, while the photograph is able to subvert.
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Lakeland Chronicles2016 installation view
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Lakeland Chronicles2016 text
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The Village; #22016 silver gelatin print mounted on wooden panel, photographs from the archives 8 x 10"
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The Master Study; #32016 silver gelatin print mounted on wood panel, giant sea sponge 8 x 10"
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The Technician; #12016 silver gelatin print mounted on wood panel, silent clock 8 x 10"
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The Huntresses; #92016 silver gelatin print mounted on wood panel, unidentified tool fragments 8 x 10"
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View of a Living Room; #72016 silver gelatin print mounted on wood panel, stereoscope viewer seeing the moon 8 x 10"
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Landland Chronicles2016 silent clock, silver gelatin prints, giant sea sponge, 3 small vessels, architectural drawing tool kit, volumetric glass flask with sea water, stereoscope with image of the moon, dehydrated vegetable matter, unidentifiable tool fragments
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Lakeland Chronicles2016 Forensic Print Examination; six plaster pairs of human feet. Womens size 5, 7, & 8; Mens size 8, 10, & 12 1/2
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Dusk at the Twin Monoliths2016 silver gelatin print, text, charcoal, wooden box 24 x 30"
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.
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Pin-Hole #12015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
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Pin-hole #22015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
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Pin-hole #32015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
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Pin-hole #42015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
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Pin-hole #52015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
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Pin-hole #62015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
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Pin-hole #72015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
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Pin-hole #82015. unique chromogenic color print. 8 x 10"
Isle of Caprona
This full length film contains original and appropriated 16 mm film that is spliced together and treated with a variety of mark-making, paint, and alternative darkroom chemistry. The camera presents a first person perspective of the alien other examining a fantastical landscape neither before or after human civilization. Inspired by the novel The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Caprona is identified as a lost island where every stage of evolution occurs at once. Analog formats are used based upon my interest in the transformation of substances, and ability for them to reference shifting periods of time; materials that reference the past, while also holding a possibility to withstand digital remnants in the future.
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Isle of Caprona2014.16 mm film stills
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Isle of Caprona2014. 16 mm film
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Isle of Caprona2014.16 mm film still
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Isle of Caprona2014.16 mm film still
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Isle of Caprona2014.16 mm film still
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Isle of Caprona16 mm film still
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Isle of Caprona2014.16 mm film still
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Isle of Caprona2014.16 mm film still
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Isle of Caprona2014.16 mm film still
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Isle of Caprona2014.16 mm film still