Rachel Nixon is a British-Canadian fine art photographer based in Vancouver.
Her work explores themes such as heritage, womanhood, grief, and memory, and is exhibited internationally. In 2025, she was named a finalist for the prestigious Sony Alpha Female Award.
Before committing full-time to visual art, Rachel had an extensive career as a journalist and news executive for the BBC, CBC and others. She brings her editorial and photographic expertise to her volunteer role as Editor of WE ARE Magazine, from the RPS Women in Photography group, which showcases the work of female photographers around the world.
Website: https://www.rachelnixon.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelnixon/
Undertow
Anxiety has been a constant presence in my life for as long as I can remember. The series Undertow, from which the image Breath is drawn, is my translation of this internal restlessness into visible form. In making this work, I came to understand my anxiety as both adversary and protector. A low hum through adulthood, anxiety has come roaring back amid the hormonal chaos of perimenopause.
In this series, I use black and white imagery with touches of colour, double exposures and textured layers to evoke the starkness and complexity of my emotions. The first part depicts how anxiety feels to me, drawing on motifs from vivid dreams — threatening urban landscapes interspersed with natural elements like sharp pine needles or tangled roots.
