Goliath’s immersive serial installation Berenice 29–39 consists of eleven portraits of women of color. Each subject stares resolutely at the viewer, and sits against a background that ranges from lilac and pewter to peach. These women serve as surrogates that collectively mark the absent presence of the artist’s childhood friend Berenice; there is one portrait for each year unlived following her killing in 1991. With this commemorative gesture, Goliath reasserts notions of tenderness and beauty in the face of structural and physical violence. She has said, “This is life-work, not death-work.” The series will continue.

Gallery label from

New Photography 2025: Lines of Belonging, September 14, 2025–January 17, 2026

Medium Eleven inkjet prints
Dimensions Each 35 7/16 × 35 7/16" (90 × 90 cm)
Credit The Family of Man Fund
Object number 197.2024.a-k
Department Photography

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