Profile
Photo Pekka Mäkinen
Rachel trained in circus theatre, vocal and movement improvisation, and the theatre of the outdoors at Fool-Time School of Performing and Circus Skills (1989-90), and the woman warrior role at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Theatre in Beijing (Leverhulme Study Abroad Scholarship, 1996-98). She gained a First Class Honours Degree in Modern Chinese Studies from Leeds University (1990-93).
After seven years in China making solo performance and facilitating arts events and collaborations (International Workshop Festival, Visiting Arts, British Council), she returned to the UK to develop her original practice, becoming an independent artist in 2003. Her site-unique work, Flickers, has been commissioned by ANTI Festival of Contemporary Art, Finland (2009), Brighton Festival (2010), where she took part in the caravan biennial showcase, Up the Wall Festival, Chester (2010). Commissions in 2011 include Downtown Cairo Arts Festival, Greenwich and Docklands Festival and White Night, Brighton.
She became a Supported Artist at The Basement in September 2010.
Rachel is a long-term member of Periplum, an outdoor visual theatre company, and performs in Oogly Boogly, an event for very young children created by Guy Dartnell and Tom Morris (Artistic Director, Bristol Old Vic).
She is a translator of art, literature and theatre texts (Royal Court Theatre, Egmont), a Paper Republic associated translator, a liaison interpreter for asylum seekers (Sussex Interpreting) and a theatre audio-describer for people with a visual impairment (See-a-Voice).
After seven years in China making solo performance and facilitating arts events and collaborations (International Workshop Festival, Visiting Arts, British Council), she returned to the UK to develop her original practice, becoming an independent artist in 2003. Her site-unique work, Flickers, has been commissioned by ANTI Festival of Contemporary Art, Finland (2009), Brighton Festival (2010), where she took part in the caravan biennial showcase, Up the Wall Festival, Chester (2010). Commissions in 2011 include Downtown Cairo Arts Festival, Greenwich and Docklands Festival and White Night, Brighton.
She became a Supported Artist at The Basement in September 2010.
Rachel is a long-term member of Periplum, an outdoor visual theatre company, and performs in Oogly Boogly, an event for very young children created by Guy Dartnell and Tom Morris (Artistic Director, Bristol Old Vic).
She is a translator of art, literature and theatre texts (Royal Court Theatre, Egmont), a Paper Republic associated translator, a liaison interpreter for asylum seekers (Sussex Interpreting) and a theatre audio-describer for people with a visual impairment (See-a-Voice).
'Fantastically inventive and deeply charming' ANTI Festival 'A huge hit with the public' Art Monthly
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Rachel Henson is interested in the act of walking, in how it amplifies the surroundings and brings our focus to the very edge of our senses.
Flickers is an immersive, hands-on experience that heightens our perception of the immediate environment, placing us inside a story through which we are moving. It is a physical journey through a psychic landscape, a hyper-real exploration of place. You set off with an expedition kit, a series of flick books, which act as navigation tools to guide your way. Flicking the pages animates a photo sequence of the real environment, revealing the path ahead. These images are layered with visual narratives that blur the line between the real and the imagined landscape. Flickers may be made for almost any site, indoor/outdoor, rural/urban day time/night time, and has the potential to remain in place, becoming a permanent piece of public art. Rachel Henson is a Supported Artist at The Basement Flickers has been commissioned by ANTI Festival 2009 and Brighton Festival 2010 and Up the Wall Festival, Chester 2010 Commissions in 2011 include Cairo Downtown Arts Festival, Greenwich and Docklands Festival, White Night, Brighton.  |