A lesson in activism from US photographer Nan Goldin

NGA’s acquisition of Nan Goldin’s iconic suite of 126 photographs ‘The Ballad…’ offers lessons in documenting truth in times of activism.
Nan Goldin photography of woman looking in bathroom mirror

At 11.15am on 9 November (2022), two climate change protesters attacked Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans hanging in the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). After a good clean, it was back on the wall five hours later.

‘It’s one of the most influential bodies of work in photographic history,’ he adds.

She adds: ‘Nan was really angry about being sold that bulls**t – the American Dream – because of the consequences of trying to fit yourself into those boxes and be a certain way. She saw the devastating consequences of hiding things. She was against our vanishing. It was hugely radical.’

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Instagram: fairleygina