I grew up in a small coastal town in Central Queensland called Yeppoon and was lucky to spend a lot of my childhood outdoors.

My first ‘proper’ engagement with photography was when I studied Fine Arts and happened to do a darkroom photography subject—I was spellbound by its technology and magic. I then learnt how to teach darkroom photography when on teaching rounds for my GradDip, and later when I landed my job as a high school photography teacher. As my knowledge and engagement with this art form developed, so too did my interest in exploring it in my own personal practice.

My practice is rooted in storytelling and connection and at its core are the relationships and the communities I engage with. I’m interested in process, documentation, participation and collaboration, with my work spanning across photography and video. My artistic process will change and adapt depending on the nature of the project, but like most things, it starts with an idea, or an inquiry and then develops from there. I used to be much more rigid in my process and found it hard when the work or project was seemingly not going as planned or envisioned, however I’ve learnt (through doing the MA and trying to create in times of a global pandemic) to let go and be much more flexible.

Over the past two years I have been working on a project called Session Queens as part of my MA studies at the Photography Studies College. Session Queens is a project that aims to highlight the women and girls of the Australian and Aotearoa (New Zealand) Krump dance communities. Ideas associated with identity, expression, movement and body are explored through a range of methodologies including documentation, participation and collaboration. Some of the project’s imagery featuring the women krumping and their hand gestures will be included in the New Photographers exhibition, with a link to the project’s website allowing for further engagement with this community.

I draw inspiration from other artists, personal experiences and people I connect with.

This very universal theme makes me think about our commonalities and how quickly these can be forgotten during times of stress or when divisive strategies are being used. I’m reminded of our impermanence, our need to be understood, connected and loved, our flaws and our resilience.

I was very excited to be paired with George who is very experienced and established in his career as a photographer and photojournalist. I am looking forward to discussing our practices and exploring our individual approaches to photography. I’m grateful to have this mentorship leading up to the festival where I can discuss specific aspects of the project and have George help me get it ready for exhibition. It is quite overwhelming trying to prepare a large project for exhibition when only a small portion of it can get shown, so having someone to assist me with this is awesome.

I try to keep my life pretty simple these days and I most enjoy spending time with my family, being in nature, learning, creating, cooking, reading, having baths… the ultimate chilled-out lifestyle!

I would tell 15 year-old Rachel that she should be more confident in herself, trust her instincts and not seek so much validation from others.