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Poster Girl: series of prints exploring fetish and erotica

Through illustration, Goodall’s research questions the constructions of erotic art and how these might be rethought through concepts of masking, desire, fetish fashion and dressing-up. Goodall builds on the work of cartoonists such as Eric Stanton, photographer and illustrator John Willie, and artists such as Allen Jones, to challenge the border between pop art and erotica, and to develop a series of works that explore fantasy, myth and reality. In so doing he creates a visual and critical commentary on perceptions of erotic art, while maintaining the archetypes that construct and transcend the borders of taboo.

Historically, Goodall’s work has explored idealised fantasy, reflected in his exploration of graphic design, photography and fashion. ‘Poster Girl’ was developed as a series of constructed images employing a combination of drawings and photographic constructions, which reinterpreted key popular and iconic assumptions in erotic imagery and re-made these as a critical collection. The series challenged clichés, including the icons of the nun, the nurse and the shepherdess, and re-imagined how these might be represented differently. In seeking to create new images Goodall drew on historical references to Freud and Jung, and to erotica and aesthetics as explored by Beardsley. He employed references to the tigress and to the Medusa myth, and sought to upend erotic perceptions by creating figures such as the ‘Bad Bambi’, which transformed both the sex and figure of the mythical animal alongside the overt use of the mask, fetishised fabrics and idealised glossy colours and finishes.

‘Poster Girl’ was shown at the Electric Blue Gallery, London (February – March 2009) with coverage in ‘The Sunday Times Magazine’ of 15 February. In his keynotes at the ‘Semi- Permanent Creative Conference’ in Sydney, March 2010 and a related event in Brisbane (June 2010), Goodall discussed ‘Poster Girl’ and other work. SEE DIGITAL PORTFOLIO.