“The tools of Frances Goodman’s practice are the materials and labour of the beauty industry. Goodman deftly deploys fake nails, false eyelashes, earrings, pearls and sequins, among many other items found in the beauty isle, to create works that are simultaneously seductive and appalling. The repetitive and meticulous gestures used to make her works mimic the repetitive and meticulous labors of nail salons and beauty maintenance regimes. By employing these materials and efforts Goodman’s work draws attention to popular culture definitions that narrow the possibilities of female identity to extremes of consumption, aspiration, obsession, desire and anxiety.
Jennie Lamesdorf on Contemporary artist Frances Goodman
Sugar trap, Jennie Lamesdorf on Contemporary artist Frances Goodman. Acrylic Nails, Foam, Resin, and Silicone Glue.
Though Goodman’s work reflects a society in which objects can define and burden people it also celebrates the use of these materials as symbols of empowerment. The beauty industry hinges on the implicit and the explicit message that personal betterment can be found in a product. Loyalty to this system can amount to extreme investments of time and money, leaving its adherents with little opportunity to consider themselves under a structure of control. However, the prefabricated nails and long lashes used in Goodman’s works are evidence of women appropriating the beauty industry’s complexities as a means of self-expression and empowerment.”
Jennie Lamesdorf on Contemporary artist Frances Goodman
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