Rachel Maclean (artist)
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Rachel Maclean (born 1987) is a Scottish visual artist and filmmaker. She lives and works in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. Her films have shown widely in galleries, museums, film festivals, and on television. She has screened work at numerous festivals in the UK and internationally, such as Rotterdam International Film Festival, Ars Electronica, Fantastic Fest, Mecal Pro, Fantasia Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival. She has received significant acclaim with solo shows at Tate Britain and The National Gallery, London, and she represented Scotland at the 2017 Venice Biennale with her film Spite Your Face. Her work A Whole New World (2014) won the prestigious Margaret Tate Award in 2013. She has twice been shortlisted for the Jarman Award, and achieved widespread critical praise for Feed Me at the British Art Show in 2016. Maclean is also a NUAcT Research Fellow at
Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...
.


Early life and education

Maclean was born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. She has a BA in Drawing and Painting from
Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...
.


Work

Maclean produces elaborate films and digital prints using extravagant costume, over-the-top make-up, green screen vfx and electronic soundtracks. Using film and photography, she creates outlandish characters and fantasy worlds which she uses to delve into politics, society and identity. Wearing colourful costumes and make-up, Maclean often takes on every role in her films herself. She uses computer technology to generate her locations, and borrows audio from television and cinema to construct narratives with a comedic touch. Maclean's artwork is both seductive and disturbing, it sucks the viewer into oversaturated candy coloured worlds and repels them with unsettling themes and narratives. She explores issues of identity, class, nationalism and gender, whilst referencing narrative structures from pop culture and fairy-tales.


Exhibitions

Maclean has had solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Giessen, Germany (2024), Kunstpalais Erlangen, Germany (2023), Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh (2021), Arsenal Contemporary, New York (2019), The National Gallery, London (2019), National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2018), KWM Arts Centre, Beijing (2018), Dublin City Art Gallery, Ireland (2018), Tate Britain, London (2017), HOME, Manchester (2016),
Edinburgh Printmakers Edinburgh Printmakers is a printmaking studio and gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has played a key role in the careers of Alan Davie, John Bellany, Carol Rhodes and Kate Downie. History Edinburgh Printmakers was established in 1967, Britai ...
(2013), Collective Gallery, Edinburgh (2013), Trade Gallery, Nottingham (2013) and Generator Projects, Dundee (2012). Her work has also been shown at the State Museum of Urban Sculpture, St Petersburg, Russia, Kunstarkaden, Munich, Germany, Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Germany,
Talbot Rice Gallery Talbot Rice Gallery is the public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of Edinburgh College of Art. The building has three exhibition spaces, including a contemporary white cube gallery and a neoclassical space that w ...
, Edinburgh, the
Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...
, Edinburgh. Maclean exhibited in British Art Show 8 with ''Feed Me.'' Maclean was selected to represent Scotland in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
at the 57th International Art Exhibition of the
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
, 2017. This solo presentation of new work centred on a major new film commission. The presentation is commissioned and curated by Alchemy Film & Arts in partnership with
Talbot Rice Gallery Talbot Rice Gallery is the public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of Edinburgh College of Art. The building has three exhibition spaces, including a contemporary white cube gallery and a neoclassical space that w ...
and the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
.


Film Screenings

Maclean's films have screened widely at numerous international film festivals includin
BFI London Film FestivalInternational Film Festival RotterdamTampere Film FestivalFantasia Film FestivalMinikino Film WeekArs ElectronicaAesthetica Short Film FestivalMotelX Lisbon International Horror Film Festival
Mecal Pro International Short Film Festival, Fantastic Fest
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Kurzfilm Hamburg
Festival du Nouveau CinémaLo Schermo dell'arteGlasgow Short Film Festival
and Uppsala International Film Festival, among others.


Awards

In 2013, Maclean received the Margaret Tait Award for her contribution to
Glasgow Film Festival The Glasgow Film Festival is an annual film festival based in Glasgow, Scotland. The festival began in 2005. By 2015, the festival had seen audience figures top 40,000 for two consecutive years. It is now considered one of the top film festivals ...
and was twice shortlisted for the Film London Jarman Award. Maclean's film
DUCK
' (2024) received an award at the prestigiou
Prix Ars Electronica
in Linz, Austria. ''Make Me Up'' (2018) won the International Federation of Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Rachel 1987 births Scottish artists Living people