Totally Stockholm 1
Nan Goldin, Fashion show at Second Tip, Toon, C,
So and Yogo, Bangkok (1992) From the slideshow The Other Side, 1992–2021 © Nan Goldin Up until 1994, that slideshow was her only work, but it was one that she still constantly expanded upon. During the ’90s Goldin started creating more stories through the slides, and created an archive of stories and chapters about the different stages of life: childhood; relationships; love; loss and sorrow. “The stories are relevant, powerful and very significative for our time,” says Liew. “They deal with how we live together, tolerate differences and how we view ourselves. The art discusses the big questions that we ask ourselves, but that humans need help processing. She uses herself and her life, which she projects onto all of us, so we can recognise how it is to be a human being.” The ongoing exhibition presents the six chief works of her career. For the configuration the architect Hala Werdé was invited to shape different rooms for each chapter. They are created from the contents of the work and become an extension of the visualisation of the artistry. The rooms are made for entering, and they are covered in dark grey cloth to create a smooth and inviting environment. One room is a nightclub, another is a cinema. “What we have done is to try and create environments that relate to an embodiment of the works. The viewer is invited into environments that they can recognise themselves in, and in that way gain access to the message and meaning of the art. It’s something else to actually be dragged into an experience of different mediums and sizes, where the work pulls us inside the story. We are not standing outside observing it, but instead we become part of the artistic experience. We get to meet the works in the same way that Nan first introduced them to the world, through vivid and social environments. That makes it come full circle.” The exhibition title This Will Not End Well houses both irony and humour, as well as darkness. It mirrors 11 the slideshows’ different emotional themes. “It also reflects a certain attitude from Nan herself. The indefatigable joy of living, it won’t end well, but we’ll do it anyhow. Our calling is to do what we’re passionate about and express what we are. That might not end well, but we love it, and we adopt it no matter the price. Despite any setbacks.” The Nan Goldin exhibition This Will Not End Well is on display until 26 February at Moderna Museet. Nan Goldin, Amanda at the sauna, Hotel Savoy, Berlin (1983) From the sllideshow The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, 1981–2022 © Nan Goldin