rachel.maclean

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1987, artist Rachel Maclean has spent the last decade showcasing her ground-breaking work in galleries, museums, film festivals and on television. Working across a variety of media, including video, digital print and VR, she makes complex and layered works that reference politics, fairy tales, celebrity culture and more.

She has shown her work widely, both in the UK and internationally, receiving critical acclaim in the spheres of film and visual art. Her major exhibitions include solo shows at Tate Britain and National Gallery, London; Arsenal Contemporary, New York; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Germany; KWM Artcentre, Beijing; and HOME, Manchester. Maclean represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale in 2017 with her film commission Spite Your Face.

Her film, Make Me Up premiered at London Film Festival and on BBC4, then went on to screen in festivals around the world, including Rotterdam and Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival, Turkey, where it won the International Federation of Film Critics award.

In 2013, Maclean was awarded the prestigious Margaret Tait Award. She has been twice shortlisted for the Jarman Award and achieved widespread critical praise for her film Feed Me at British Art Show 8 in 2016. Maclean has also worked on several television commissions, including Billy Connolly: Portrait of a Lifetime, BBC Scotland (2017); and The Shopping Centre: Artist in Residence, Channel 4 (2018).

Maclean’s biggest commission to date, upside mimi ᴉɯᴉɯ uʍop, is on permanent display at Jupiter Artland, Scotland. The installation includes her first fully animated short film, which had its premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.

Rachel’s most recent video work DUCK is her first film to use deepfake visuals and audio. It has its World Premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam in January 2024 and will be installed as part of her upcoming solo show at Kunsthalle Giessen in Germany in July this year.