Rachel Henriksen: knew/new

Firmly planted in the multicultural approach, aesthetics, and ideas of the 1970’s Pattern and Decoration Movement, Henriksen’s work builds visual narratives that grow from an engagement with patterns from a range of sources and experiences. Patterns intersect and overlap with the fluid, organic shapes referencing nature and the human form,  acting as access points to alternate realities. The work establishes systems and hierarchies, which are then ruptured and interrupted to generate new forms for navigating visual experience.

Henriksen’s interests lay in the porousness of culture, perception, and identity, and her current body of work provides a way to explore and process her background and experience. She aims to challenge the notion that identities and cultures, and our individual perceptions of the two, are unalterable, fixed. Henriksen says, “As I confront, break down and build upon my ideals, I feel a freedom to construct hybridized and evolving forms. This process, and the corresponding forms that emerge, relate to the way my awareness shifts and evolves as I seek for greater empathic connection and navigate the world visually, emotionally, and culturally.”