bio
Rebecca Pempek is a mixed-media artist interested in rendering internal physical and psychological terrains. She earned her B.A. in Studio Art with Honors, graduating magna cum laude from Davidson College in Davidson, NC, and is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Her most recent painting and printmaking work utilizes her pelvic MRI scans to interrogate the history and mythologization of female pain. By layering and abstracting 17th-century reproductive anatomical illustrations with fauna imagery and gestural mark-making, she reclaims agency over the narratives of chronic pain. Her work engages with the broader discourse on the violent history of and lack of legitimacy in claims of pain for people with uteruses in the healthcare system.
Prior to pursuing her MFA, Rebecca was a teaching fellow at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH. She has exhibited her work in North Carolina, New England, and Iceland.