2010, Silk, lace, organza, satin, beads and embroidery thread installation with sound (14’36 and 5’21), Dimensions variable, Edition 1/2

In The Dream, Frances Goodman examines the issues of marriage and aging, and the pressures women feel are placed on them to conform to societal expectations of them and for them. The work is made of meters and meters of draped satin, silk and organza hanging in cascades from the ceiling, forming a massive cloud or baldachin that collapses to the floor. The installation is accompanied by a sound track compromised of dozens of interviews with unmarried women.

The piece uses the interviews to focus on the envy women sometimes feel in the face of societal pressure and expectations that not only do they marry, but also that they marry before a certain age, before it is ‘too late’. Constant comparisons in regard to looks, age, independence and success feed their anxieties, and reveals that not only do they desire and anticipate ‘the perfect wedding’, but that they are also plagued by uncertainties and fears of not being led to the alter and having to live alone, whilst still trying to be modern, independent, liberated women.

Adapted from a text by Monique Meyer