Amelia Rafle is an American printmaker and educator from Richmond, Virginia. She received her BFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2021 and her MFA in Art and Ecology from the Burren College of Art in 2023. She has exhibited work in both the United States and Ireland, received grants to study human impact on birds, and most recently held her solo exhibition Martyrs and Ghosts at the Artworks gallery in Richmond.
Strongly rooted in scientific research, Amelia uses an expanded printmaking process to communicate information regarding the climate crisis through visual imagery that is accessible and engaging to the viewer. Her most recent work explores the concepts of vigilant mourning and multispecies grief felt by all in the age of the climate crisis. A love of birds is also prevalent throughout her work, making use of bird imagery to symbolize how human activity affects both the human and more than human worlds.
The coming century will bring changes to the environment that will bind together all life on Earth with the same fate of forced migration, displacement, and general species decline. However, neither climate related despair nor devastation are inevitable. By using both traditional and expanded printmaking practices, my work combines education with the concepts of vigilant mourning to address the collective grief we feel in the age of the climate crisis.
My work is deeply enmeshed in multispecies theories,each piece is a study in passionate immersion that conveys empathy and an understanding of the interconnected web of life. I have found that bird imagery in particular creates a unique connection with my audience, oftentimes beginning conversations about their own experiences with native birds that can open channels for deeper environmental discussions. I also put strong emphasis on community participation through eco-focused print workshops where individuals can take part in the actual making and distribution of the work. The act of engaging in a participatory practice is meant to instill a sense of hope in individuals by making them part of an action-based coping strategy.
The grief of species loss and changing environmental landscapes is felt by all living in the anthropocene, even if it’s on a subconscious level. My work is my way of addressing those emotions, and attempting to alleviate it in others.