Stepping into Rachel MacFarlane’s exhibition, Afterlight, you enter an atmosphere of radiant, sweltering landscapes and venture towards an unknown future. The unpredictable future of a natural world that is vibrant, strong, and resilient, continuing to grow despite the climate changes and ecological effects that have threatened it. MacFarlane expertly situates the viewer amid a vibrantly colored atmosphere, positioning them as an active participant in the environments the paintings create. 

MacFarlane’s oil paintings create a space for viewers to step into and explore. Despite vegetation at times filling the foreground and complicating the view, as in Tongues of Fire, the content, color, and clarity create compositional harmony as the burning sunrays bear down overhead. Inspired by science fiction and creating new environments, MacFarlane constructs spaces that are both beautiful and shocking, mesmerizing and apprehensive. In talking to MacFarlane, she explained how she makes mock-ups before painting each piece, using color, light, and layers of paper, which are considered in the final composition and spatial design. This allows her to test ideas, experiment, and adjust details easily before committing to the canvas.