Frances Goodman @ the Goodman
Catch one of our finest young artists Frances Goodman at one of our finest galleries, the Goodman in Rosebank. We have to ask… is she related? Or is that a dumb question?
Frances Goodman
Wishful Thinking
23rd June to 14th July 2007
Goodman Gallery
In her new solo exhibition, titled “Wishful Thinking”, Frances Goodman continues her exploration into character-construction through language and narrative. She examines how people present themselves to the outside world and how words manage to ‘perform’ and expose people’s anxieties and vulnerabilities. How people use words and language can as easily reveal personal fictions and desires, as they can divulge tastes, biases and predilections.
The exhibition comprises three new sound installations and two sculptural series.
“Young Guns” is a large-scale video/sound installation that accompanies two young bodybuilders on their quest for perfection, success and ideal beauty. As the narrative unfolds, the viewer becomes aware of a blurring of boundaries between scrupulous preparation and raw narcissism. This slip between definition of self and judgment by others raises questions around contemporary versions of ideal beauty and the limits to achieving them.
“I know what you’re thinking…” is a sound installation that examines the very act of judging others. From the endless comments and quips on any number of topics, to the anonymous protagonists in the work, all expose society’s dual fascination and revulsion with others. When people are not constrained by expected politeness and sensitivity, we are all, potentially, the subject of someone else’s prejudice.
Goodman’s new sculptures are an extension of her interest in language, and focus on how we ‘read’ objects. There is a play between text and texture, surface and content, sincerity and irony. The obsessively worked and highly decorative sequined surfaces declare a gaudy shallowness, which seems at odds with the sincerity of the bodybuilder’s life affirmations.
This exhibition will open on Saturday 23rd June from 18:00 – 20:00, and closes on the 14th July 2007.
