Hair In Milk. 2017
Snapshots from the Garden of Eden’ features 11 large-scale tableaux images with representing characters and passages from Leaves From The Garden Of Eden. The series includes modernized scenes from each of the four primary types of tales: fairy tales, folktales, supernatural tales and mystical tales. I feature the rich and ethnically diverse characters made up of divine royalty, temptresses, supernatural spirits, and Hasidic figures that star in these ancient dramas. I challenge the viewer with themes of destiny, temptation, justice, wisdom, blind faith and circumstance. Dreamscapes and symbolism are staples within my work as it is in these early narratives.
The Last Supper. 2014
The work is a visual analysis of religious faith within the context of the modern forces of technology, science and secularism. The series plays with narrative and religious iconography in order to communicate how organized belief has become twisted within a global framework driven by consumerism and greed. The project challenges the viewer — religious or secular — to embark on a journey of self-reflection as they contemplate the relevance of dogma in modernity.
Tub & Toilet. 2012
In The Dollhouse a 10-part series placed within an adult-sized dollhouse belonging to Barbie and Ken — This dark sequential narrative explores the embrace of superficiality over reality. Shot entirely on an elaborately constructed set that imitated a Barbie dollhouse, this project dissected the concept of ‘beauty as power’ as well as beauty as a source of happiness. When Ken, Barbie’s handsome husband, expresses his individuality and embraces his true self, the value of beauty as an apex trait is exposed as cheap and as plastic as the dolls themselves.
Note: The text above was written by the Artist. No modification was made by C.O.C.A.
Dina Goldstein
Canada
Dina began her career over 25 years ago as a photojournalist, evolving from a documentary and editorial photographer into an independent artist focusing on large scale productions of nuanced photographic tableau. Her work is highly conceptual and complex, incorporating cultural archetypes and iconography with narratives inspired by the subconscious and human condition. The vivid and provocative still imagery emerges through an entirely cinematic technique, with Dina’s established methodology following a precise pre- to post production process. Leaning into the visual language of pop surrealism, she stages narrative compositions that expose the underbelly of modern life, challenging the notions of beauty, gender, sex and religion.