Nan one month after being battered 1984
"Nan Goldin describes her photographs as a 'visual diary'. She has stated: 'These are my friends, these are my family, this is myself. There is no separation between me and what I photograph.' The self-portrait Nan one month after being battered was taken to prevent Goldin from forgetting the damage caused by her boyfriend's violence. She applies the same frankness to the lives of her close friends."
Photographer Nan Goldin has stuck in my head since I did my Art Foundation course in Cheltenham. I was shocked by the brutal honesty in her work, but I like how documenting life is a part of her work and the reason she photographs. Little snapshots of moments in time. I want to use my illustrations to document life, and at a certain point and place and time. I also think that Richard Billingham's work is quite similar to her technique. The term 'Visual Diary' is great for documenting life via images.
