Rachel Elise Thomas (b. 1988) is a Detroit-born and based artist and designer who obtained their BFA in Photography from the College for Creative Studies. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, print and digital publications.
Being a collage artist and documentary photographer has given her the versatility to tell stories in different ways. She gathers inspiration from vintage magazines and advertisements, family artifacts, old photographs, decorative paper, textiles and printed words; assembling imagery and materials that invite the viewer to deeply examine the messages being presented. These messages revolve around identity, ancestry and spirituality. With topics sometimes having tongue-in-cheek nuances, this is done as a way to further understand and delve into issues that affect our society—such as: overconsumption, vanity, materialism, colorism, sexism and racism.
Give Her, Her Flowers is a series of collages that revolve around honoring Black women—giving them their flowers while they’re still alive to enjoy them. Featured are advertisements of Black women from a Gold Medal Hair Products catalog (circa 1980s), paired with a variety of flowers from different advertisements.
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