National Museum of Australia - Elizabeth Goldrick

Elizabeth Goldrick

PHOTO MEDIA

Artist biography

A colour potrait photograph of a young white woman. Only her head is visible in the photo. She has long dark hair and dark eyes. She smiles at the camera. Her head is slightly tilted to the right of the photo. The background is dark and featureless.

Elizabeth Goldrick is a second year student undertaking a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the Australian National University.

Majoring in Photography, she draws most of her inspiration from her love of theatre, illustration and travel.

Her practice allows her to explore and embrace the link between storytelling and visual image.

Artist statement

Initially inspired by an old tapestry of Little Red Riding Hood, these sets of work explore a tale deeply engrained in history. From its roots in seventeenth century French folklore to its modern day adaptations, the story, its characters and motifs continue to provoke our subconscious. Why does this fairytale call for such differing interpretations? Like all stories passed down through time, this one of a little girl and a Big Bad Wolf can carry an ever-changing meaning.

When roles are switched and costumes traded, who encounters who?

Artist work

Title: Red Wolf, Wolf Red

Medium: Inkjet print
Dimensions: 20.3cm x 25.4cm (x4)
Date: May 2009

Two colour photographs. In the left photo a woman's hand, in a fur-lined glove, holds a red silk cape. In the right photo a woman's hand holds a piece of fur. The background in each photo is very dark and featureless. Studio lighting has been used to highlight the subject in each photo.

Two colour photographs. In the left photo a dark-haired woman wraps herself in a red silk cape. In the right photo a dark-haired woman appears, back to the camera, wearing a fur tail and fur ears. In both photos the background is dark and featureless. Studio lighting has been used to highlight the subject in each photo.

Artist inspiration

Little Red Riding Hood wall-hanging

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Australian teacher Valerie Paling travelled to Germany to work for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.

Her job was to help resettle some of the thousands of people displaced during the war. Paling received the Little Red Riding Hood wall-hanging in thanks for her work at a displaced persons camp near the town of Ulm.

The hanging was created by Olga Basylevich, a Ukrainian refugee, using a United Nations issue blanket and scraps of fabric and fur.

Paling returned to Australia with the wall-hanging. She donated it to the Forest Hill Kindergarten in Melbourne, where it was displayed until 1990.

Wall hanging depicting Little Red Riding Hood walking through a forest. A wolf appears from behind a tree, with his red tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. A variety of fabrics including felt and fur have been sewn onto a grey blanket to form the scene, which also shows an owl, a bird, a squirrel and a rabbit. Some of the elements are padded using a technique called stumping, and they have a three-dimensional appearance.

Photo: George Serras.

Curator Karen Schamberger detailed her research on the Little Red Riding Hood wall-hanging in a presentation at the National Museum on 30 May 2008.

Listen to 'Re-presenting Little Red Riding Hood'

An animation of the Grimm Brothers' 1812 version of the Little Red Riding Hood story, based on the wall-hanging, appears in the Australian Journeys gallery.

View the Little Red Riding Hood animation (MPEG4 18.3mb) duration 05:24