2015-2016

Sequins, beads, thread, fabric.

In the Randela series, Goodman’s simultaneous allusion to, and rejection of, consumerism conflates seemingly disparate ideas. The work draws upon aspects of commercial production through seriality, repetition and the removal of the artist’s hand (the tapestries are outsourced to a local female artisan). Yet, the strong emphasis on craft – its qualities of uniqueness, individuality and the laborious process of production – resists standardised claims. Instead, the series juxtaposes democratic aspirations, fostered by the allure of the ‘rainbow nation’ ideal, and the grim reality majority of South Africans face: a chimeric future where all that glitters is certainly not gold.