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A Comprehensive Look Back at Fifty Years of Creative Expression
Diving Into the World of Nan Goldin
Held at the Grand Palais in Paris, the exhibition This Will Not End Well invites visitors on a captivating exploration of renowned American photographer Nan Goldin’s work. Known for her intimate portrayal of LGBTQ+ communities in Boston and New York since the 1970s, the 72-year-old artist guides viewers through a curated experience featuring a series of slideshows and videos. This retrospective divides into six chapters, surveying five decades of her artistic journey.
Goldin is perhaps best known for her seminal work, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, which originated in late 1970s New York. This project transforms her everyday photographs into a compelling visual story set to music, focusing on her friends, lovers, and personalities from the drag scene, capturing their essence through her eyes.
Her work is part of a broader dialogue on the representation of LGBTQ+ individuals in cinema and media, using images as powerful tools for storytelling, remembrance, and empowerment.
A Cinematic Artistic Vision
Fredrik Liew, the exhibition’s curator and collections director at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, where the exhibition first appeared in 2022, notes that Nan Goldin never aspired simply to be a photographer. “Her goal was to be a filmmaker,” Liew explains. This ambition is evident in her work, highlighting editing, rhythm, and narrative rather than just assembling images.
Goldin had long awaited a platform that could emphasize the cinematic quality inherent in her creations.
An Immersive Exhibition Design
Crafted by Lebanese architect Hala Wardé, the exhibition’s layout enhances viewer engagement. Building on their 2019 collaboration at the Château de Versailles, the exhibition unfolds into immersive pavilions resembling a fragmented village. Each pavilion presents a distinct visual identity, with unique forms and colors.
Barbara Kroher, associate curator at the Grand Palais, describes that each artwork “resides within its own pavilion,” allowing visitors to move from one thematic space to another—from clubs to beaches, chapels to cinemas—without resorting to cliche or stereotypical portrayals of queer life.
Discover more about art and cultural initiatives by visiting the dedicated LGBTQ+ events and cultural news section, featuring exhibitions, festivals, and other impactful projects.
From Personal to Collective Narratives
True to Nan Goldin’s autobiographical style, the exhibition combines her personal diary with a critical examination of American society. Barbara Kroher emphasizes Goldin’s absence of voyeurism, noting the artist’s consistent role as a participant in her own narrative.
Fredrik Liew points out Goldin’s immersive technique: for her, photography is akin to an intimate connection, a “caress.” Her work draws viewers into a world of assumed intimacy, free from distance or judgment.
Her raw, candid images document LGBTQI+ communities with authenticity, avoiding exoticism or caricature. The exhibit features The Other Side, which honors her trans friends with deep sensitivity, exploring universal emotions of love, pain, and joy despite distinct life experiences.
Stories Shaped by Memory and Challenges
The works exhibited are testimonies to lives frequently faced with oblivion. The backdrop of the AIDS crisis runs through The Ballad of Sexual Dependency like an ongoing wound. Meanwhile, Memory Lost confronts Goldin’s own opioid struggles, and Sirens examines the seductive, complex nature of drugs without moral commentary. Lastly, Sisters, Saints, Sibyls reflects on the loss of her sister Barbara, exploring trauma, psychiatric detention, and violence against women.
Despite these heavy themes, Goldin’s perspective is marked by vigor and irony. This tension between severity and vitality infuses the exhibition with hope, leaving visitors with a lingering, profound, and reassuring impression.
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