Personal accounts of survival and repair. A conversation with Gabrielle Goliath
Marginalised identities – black, brown, indigenous, femme, queer, non-binary and trans individuals – have found ways to affirm their bodily presence in the world and “survive”, or even thrive in an adverse social environment. Born in South Africa in 1983, Gabrielle Goliath focuses her research on showing these practices of survival, carrying on a critical discourse on political representation of non-conforming bodies. Presented at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, the immersive video-installation Personal Accounts (a project first initiated in 2014), gathers together several women and gender-diverse collaborators to share their personal accounts of survival and repair. In a further phase, all the spoken words are cut out: the bodies and their voiceless language, the hesitations, the sighs – it’s all that’s left. In a very powerful immersive experience, Goliath is able to overcome the voice/voiceless dichotomy of political representation. Disarming the role of verbal expression, the artist re-establishes the power of their physical presence, validating their experience despite the verbal content of their stories. We asked Gabrielle Goliath a few questions about the ideological and conceptual implications of this touching project.
