Personal

Accounts

of

Survival

and

Repair.

A

Conversation

with

Gabrielle

Goliath

Gabrielle Goliath’s immersive video-installation ‘Personal Accounts’ explores how black, brown, femme, queer, trans, and non-binary people affirm their presence in the world and survive in the face of societal violence. First presented at the 60th Venice Biennale, the work compiles personal stories of survival, with each narrative intentionally stripped of words. By removing spoken language, Goliath focuses on the physical presence and emotional expression of her collaborators, highlighting the power of bodily language and the unspoken truths that go against traditional representations.

This shift challenges the voice/voiceless dichotomy, conveying the complexity of survival through pauses, sighs, and breaths. Goliath emphasizes that the work isn’t about giving voice to the voiceless, but about creating space for different ways of sharing and withholding. Her project centers the experiences of survivors, not as victims but as active agents of resistance and repair, resisting the patriarchal structures that attempt to define their lives.