Collection comprises two portfolios by documentary photographer Rachel Boillot: "Después del dia: migrant farmworkers in North Carolina," and "Moon Shine," formerly titled "Silent Ballad," an exploration of Tennessee Appalachian mountain life, culture, and musical traditions. The two series comprise 116 color pigment inkjet prints, 54 in "Después del dia" and 62 in "Moon Shine," scanned from 4x5 inch and 120mm negatives. They range in size from 14x19 to 23x27 inches, with the majority measuring 20x24 or 21x25 inches.
The images in "Después del dia" were taken from 2014-2015 as part of the "Where We Live: A North Carolina Portrait" project. They document the lives of migrant farmworkers and their families across the state of North Carolina. Most were taken at their homes, and feature interior as well as exterior settings, but there are a few images of workers in the field. As the photographer writes, "This look at the dwelling places of migrant farmworkers is ultimately my exploration of how one creates a home while residing in a transient state of being." The "Where We Live" Photographic Fellowship was funded by the Annenberg Foundation and directed by photographer Alex Harris.
In "Moon Shine," Boillot turns her focus to traditional musicians living in Tennessee's Cumberland Mountains region. The original title of this project was "Silent Ballad." While the majority of the images are portraits of fiddlers, banjo players, guitarists, ballad singers, and their families, there are also images of towns, roads, theaters, markets, cabins and houses, interiors of rooms, and natural landscapes, including some taken in state parks. Most of the images were taken in Tennessee, but there is one portrait of noted fiddler Clyde Davenport taken in Monticello, Kentucky, near the Tennessee border, and several taken near the Virginia border.
"Moon Shine" was supported by a post-graduate fellowship by the Riverview Foundation of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in partnership with Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies, the Friends of the Cumberland Trail, and Cumberland Trail State Park's Music Heritage Project. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Rachel Boillot is a photographer, documentary artist, and educator currently based in Tennessee. She holds a BA in Sociology from Tufts University, a BFA in Photography from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and an MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts from Duke University. She has recently worked as a Visiting Lecturer in Photography at Duke University, Assistant Producer at Sandrock Recordings, and Multimedia Documentarian for the Friends of the Cumberland Trail.
Boillot's photography has been acquired for several permanent collections worldwide. Recent work was funded by the Annenberg Foundation of Los Angeles and the Riverview Foundation in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is currently an Art Department faculty member at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, while continuing audio production work at Sandrock Recordings alongside her own photographic practice.
