Profile
Rachel Thornton is a Yorkshire-based printmaker whose work explores liminality, transformation and the fragile beauty of impermanence. Using drypoint, collograph and relief print alongside painting, wood, silk and wax, she expands printmaking beyond the printed surface, creating layered works that occupy the space between image, object and installation. Through themes of water, woodland and the human figure, Rachel reflects on moments of quiet change found through immersion in nature. Drawn to threshold spaces, between land and water, stillness and movement, presence and absence, her work considers how transformation often unfolds gradually, inviting contemplation and a deeper awareness of the transient nature of our lives. Transparent layers, delicate surfaces and tactile materials become metaphors for memory, renewal and what quietly remains after fleeting moments have passed. Rachel lives and works in the Yorkshire Dales, where experimentation with material and process is central to her practice. Her current work continues this exploration through translucent textiles, wax and sculptural forms, expanding her investigation of ritual, care and impermanence.