In The Rug’s Topography, Rana Young employs themes of tension, voyeurism and transition, to represent interpretations of self. Through constructing imagery that balances between organic intimacy and cinematic theatricality, she investigates loss, identity, and gender expression. Collaborating visually with her former partner served as a catalyst for the reconciling of their emotional intimacy in the midst of romantic separation. It is through the juxtaposition of gaze and gesture they create blended self-portraits, expressing their emotions in relation to who they were and who they’ll become.
Rana Young is an artist and educator based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Rana holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she was an Othmer Fellow and a BFA in Studio Art from Portland State University. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, as well as published online by Hyperallergic, VICE, Huffington Post, British Journal of Photography, and The New York Times, among others. Recently, Rana was selected as a winner of Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward 2018 and LensCulture's 2017 Emerging Talent Awards.
Essay by Lissa Rivera