Rachel Boillot
Moon Shine: Photographs of the Cumberland Plateau
December 5–29, 2019
Artist talk: Saturday, December 7, 3:00 PM
Moon Shine: Photographs of the Cumberland Plateau is a body of work inspired by the unique musical traditions of the Cumberland Plateau. This region is home to a rich storytelling heritage, showcased in historic fiddle tunes, balladry, religious gospel pieces and other songs passed down as part of a formidable oral tradition. Today, this old-time tradition is threatened by the limitations of a twenty-first century attention span and the popularity of commercial music. This project ultimately celebrates a place and the creative impulses it has fostered throughout history while also seeking to document a disappearing tradition.
As a photographer exploring the region, Boillot has channeled these traditions into a lyrical portrait of place, and the photographs in this exhibition act as a visual score to mirror musical melody. Her work explores the relationship between what is heard and what is seen, with a tension between mystery and revelation pervading the work.
Rachel Boillot is a photographer, filmmaker, and educator based in Nashville, TN. She holds a BA in Sociology from Tufts University, a BFA in Photography from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and an MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts from Duke University. Her work has been funded by the Annenberg Foundation (Los Angeles, CA), the Riverview Foundation (Chattanooga, TN), the Tennessee Arts Commission (Nashville, TN), and the National Endowment for the Arts (Washington, D.C.). Her first artist monograph, Moon Shine: Photographs of the Cumberland Plateau, was published by Daylight Books in April 2019. Boillot currently teaches photography at Belmont University and Middle Tennessee State University. She is a member of the team at the Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project, and her new work is based in Kentucky.