Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well

The retrospective This Will Not End Well is the first exhibition to display a comprehensive overview of Nan Goldin’s work as a filmmaker. The exhibition is installed in six unique buildings designed by Hala Wardé, an architect who often works with the Washington-born artist. Each building is designed in response to the specific piece. As one of the most high-profile artists of our time, Nan Goldin explores the human experience, with her photographs giving the viewer an insight in her inner circles of creative, bohemian friends, showing raw snapshots of intimacy and coupling, the common and wild parties, and the struggle between autonomy and dependency.  

Nan Goldin has always engaged with social issues such as gender, mental health and AIDS, although through various approaches. This Will Not End Well is comprised of: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (1981–2022), Nan Goldin’s magnum opus; The Other Side (1992– 2021), a historical portrait produced as an homage to her trans friends whom she photographed between 1972–2010; Sisters, Saints and Sibyls (2004–2022), a testament to the trauma of families and suicide; Fire Leap (2010–2022), a foray into the world of children; Sirens (2019–2020), a trip into drug ecstasy; and Memory Lost (2019–2021), a claustrophobic journey through drug withdrawal.  

While the title of the exhibition may seem dark, it is also full of irony and warmth, affirming Goldin’s characteristically unshakeable joie de vivre. 

Nan Goldin, Jimmy Paulette and Tabboo! in the bathroom, NYC, 1991. © Nan Goldin.

Nan Goldin, Teri with her dog in a taxi, New York, 1987. © Nan Goldin.

Nan Goldin, Fashion show at Second Tip, Toon, C, So and Yogo, Bangkok, 1992. © Nan Goldin.

Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well is on view at Stedelijk Museum until 28th January.