Made for her 2017 Beneath Her exhibition, Comfort Her continues Goodman’s ongoing conversation around female identity and autonomy, this time considering the notion of ‘the surface’, and what lies beneath. For the purposes of the exhibition, the surface not only refers to the skin, it also alludes to the way a woman presents herself to the world, the image she wishes to portray and the lengths she will go to maintain and perfect the exterior; whilst the ‘beneath’ is both the flesh and bones under the skin as well as the complexity of character and the time, effort and exertion that goes into the ‘making’ of a woman.

Goodman has chosen to work with an array of historical crafting techniques such as quilting, crochet and embroidery to explore these motifs. However, she has taken these traditionally homely and domestic pastimes and has, in keeping with historical and present feminist craft art practices, subverted them.

Comfort Her, a monolithic blanket that both towers above the viewer whilst also sinking onto the floor, is the culmination of months of intensive crocheting wool of red and maroon hues, is more likely to swallow or smother the viewer than it is to console, warm and caress.