Coming up in May, ‘Earth Speaks’ a solo exhibition by Rachel Rector presented in collaboration with AFPA Gallery (Orlando, FL). The opening reception will be held Saturday, May 16 from 6-10pm. The Eclectika is located at 711 N. Britain Rd. Irving, Texas, 75061.
ABOUT THE SHOW
From AFPA Gallery:
In "Earth Speaks," Rachel Rector embraces a slow, elemental approach to image-making, using cameraless photography and historical processes to create works in direct collaboration with nature. Sunlight, water, and organic materials leave their trace, resulting in images that feel both intimate and ephemeral.
This exhibition centers on collaboration rather than control. Rector relinquishes authorship to the elements, allowing nature to imprint and shape each surface—creating works that are at once fragile and enduring, evoking memory rather than documentation.
By blending photography with poetry, collage, and textile elements, Rector expands the medium into a tactile, sensory experience, inviting viewers to pause and reconsider their connection to the natural world.
We are especially grateful to Lauren Allen and The Eclectika Gallery for this meaningful collaboration.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Rachel Rector is a fine art film photographer whose work utilizes experimental film, cameraless photography, and historical printmaking techniques to evoke the ethereal, daydream quality of a nostalgic moment in nature. She often adds poetry, collage, and textile elements to her hand-printed photographs to convey the sentiment of the natural space. Her images have been published in Polaroid, Huffington Post, Lomography, Love Watts, Fault Magazine, Something Curated, Structured Mag and displayed in galleries throughout the U.S. Rachel has developed educational workshops believing that teaching 18th century processes like cyanotypes and anthotypes captivate students' senses and encourages them to become more engaged with their environment. She is currently enjoying living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Earth Speaks is a photographic installation rooted in the language of nature, and the quiet, tactile process of cameraless image-making. This process is slow and intentional. Created through direct collaboration with nature. Using sunlight, water, chemistry, and organic materials, this exhibition captures the deep stillness of our Earth, made visible through a slow, elemental process. Each of these historical processes were developed outdoors using the power of light rays from the sun and a darkroom.