"Berenice 29-39"

As part of the exhibition at MoMA called "New Photography 2025" there was this exhibit called "Berenice 29-39 by the artist and photographer Gabrielle Goliath, from Johannesburg, South Africa.  When I entered the gallery I went to the text on the wall, and after reading it, I walked over to the first print on the wall and I was stunned!  I was facing this powerful portrait of a woman that absolutely held me.  I can't even explain why, but it is the most powerful portrait I have seen in recent years!  Then I moved on to the next portrait, and it held me as well.  This is a cropped in version of the first portrait so you can see more detail.  Here is what the other portraits look like.  PLEASE click on these images to see them larger.

This exhibit by Gabrielle Goliath consists of eleven porgtraits of women of color.  Each subject stares resolutely at the viewer, and sits against a background that ranges from lilac and pewter to peach.  These women serve as surogates that collectively mark the absent presence of the artist's childhood friend, Berenice;  There is one portrait for each year unlived following her killing in 1991.  With this commemorative gesture, Goliath reasserts notions of tenderness and beauty in the face of structural and physical violence.  She has said, "This is life-work, not death-work". The series will continue.

Here is an overall view of all the portraits as they are displayed in this gallery.  I will be going back to MoMA to see this again!  It is that powerful!