Rachel Collier-Wilson explores vocabulary through line to create narratives.

They develop a narrative to explore layers of perception. Using line to draw on paper, canvas, the bite of the print, and the physicality of wire, they depict images of themselves and others with similar Queer identities, elevated from a stance of erasure. They move away from a taxonomy based on Eurocentric colonial ideals, where language used to describe otherness becomes weaponised. They portray coded symbols of Queer to challenge this classification.

MA Fine Artwork by Rachel Collier-Wilson showing a 3D wire sculpture bust in from of a fabric print of a person on a column, with light streaming through the fabric.

Previously, their practice was predominantly two-dimensional, centred on drawing and mark-making. MA studies has encouraged Collier-Wilson to work with new mediums and materials to explore three-dimensional work, including sculpture, casting, and ‘drawing’ with metal to create sculptures. They also gained confidence to be more intimate with their imagery, referencing their lived experience to inform their line.

MA Fine Artwork by Rachel Collier-Wilson showing a couple of drops of translucent fabric, screen-printed with an image of a person on a column.
MA Fine Artwork by Rachel Collier-Wilson showing a portrait with a platypus on the head on paper, with a suggestion of a person in the background.
MA Fine Artwork by Rachel Collier-Wilson of an etching depicting a hand hanging down over the edge of a decorative column.
MA Fine Artwork by Rachel Collier-Wilson showing a painting of a person with wings, on a horse with a marigold glove suspended above.