Photo Alumna Rache Elise Thomas Featured in LensScratch
© Rachel Elise Thomas, All in the Family (Crowded House), 2022. From Thomas: The projected image that was initially taken in the family room is special to me because it is the only image that exists with (from left to right), my dad, great-grandmother, uncle, and myself in it. Interestingly, the framed hieroglyph artwork that hangs over the couch had been in the same place for over thirty years.
Cranbrook Academy of Art alumna Rachel Elise Thomas (MFA Photography 2024) is featured in Lenscratch as part of its recent spotlight on Detroit-based photographic artists. The article highlights Thomas’s explorations of materiality and color through lens-based media, emphasizing the role of photography in documenting the city’s cultural and historical shifts.
Originally from Detroit and raised in the nearby Black suburbs of Southfield, Thomas credits the region’s diverse landscapes and communities with shaping her understanding of space and artistic expression. Her work is noted for engaging with themes of location, identity, and the emotional nuances of environment.
In addition to receiving the Aperture & Google Pixel Creator Labs Photo Fund, Thomas was recently named an artist-in-residence at the Château Orquevaux in France, where she will continue to expand her creative practice in 2025.
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