Rachel Cox

(American, b. 1984; resides in Iowa City, IA)

For her Shiny Ghost series (2011-2013), Rachel Cox constructs a portrait of her grandmother in the final years of her life while suffering from a degenerative brain disease. The images depict moments of conversation, still life documents of her grandmother's belongings, and performed and candid gestures. Pieced together, Cox’s series exists as an archive of sorts to remember her grandmother after her passing, but also to process her own feelings about their relationship. The artist states: "Looking back on this project, the photographs reveal a deeper language we had been sharing for years, constituted of mutual vulnerability and trust, acted upon even in death." 

Rachel Cox completed her BFA at the University of North Texas (2006) and her MFA at the University of New Mexico (2013). She currently lives in Iowa City, IA, where she is an Assistant Professor of Photography at The University of Iowa. 

https://www.rachelcoxphotography.com/