Rachel Boillot (b.1987) grew up in New York and Singapore. Her undergraduate coursework was completed at Tufts University and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts. She spent the following two years working as a photographic archivist for the Boston Housing Authority. Before returning to graduate school, she taught photography at My Life, My Choice, helping victims of sexual exploitation tell their own stories. Rachel graduated from Duke University’s MFA program in May 2014. Post Script was her thesis work. Rachel currently teaches photography at Duke. Her photographic practice is supported by grants from the Annenberg Foundation and the Riverview Foundation.
Silent Ballad
Silent Ballad explores musical heritage in the mountains of East Tennessee. Religious belief, the rural landscape, and the old-time music tradition all inform this portrait of place. The work will be available as a limited edition photo-book in June. The book will also include an album of the musicians depicted.
These photographs were made while working for Park Ranger and folklorist Bob Fulcher, who runs Sandrock Recordings. (http://sandrockrecordings.com) Rachel continues her work for Bobby and will permanently relocate to East Tennessee this month to continue this work. All images made 2014-2015.
To view more of Rachel’s work, please visit her website.