Nan Goldin
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
from the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection
Opening: October 29th 2026, 6.30PM
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
Via Modane 16, Torino
On 29 October 2026, to mark the 200th anniversary of the invention of photography, the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation presents The Ballad of Sexual Dependency by Nan Goldin, part of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection. Taken between 1973 and 1986, the 126 images that contitute the work offer a reflection on issues such as gender, intimacy and power. The original structure of the project was conceived by Goldin as a slide show accompanied by music, and, before becoming the book published by Aperture in 1986, The Ballad was presented in clubs and public art exhibitions in New York. The photographs on display comprise the entire body of work collected in the volume, which, published in 1986, has now reached its fortieth anniversary and its twenty-third reprint, representing a milestone in the history of photobooks.
In the project, Goldin photographs the people who are part of her life and, through them, builds a collective portrait of an era. Conceived as an invitation to enter the artist’s world, over time the images have become a testament to what Goldin describes as ‘a generation that was lost’. The photographs stem, in fact, from her personal relationships with the subjects, rather than from observing reality from an external perspective, and they explore the complexity of human relationships whilst challenging the boundaries between the public and the private. Described by the artist as ‘the diary I let people read’, The Ballad takes the form of a personal diary that has, over time, become a collective memory. It is precisely this intimacy that makes it a groundbreaking work even today, and its relevance in the present day testifies to how the desire for transformation and the difficulty of establishing connections remain pressing issues.
Over the years, the work has played a decisive role in transforming the language of contemporary photography and has influenced generations of artists and photographers. With this exhibition dedicated to The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation presents a work that has changed the way we view photography and its meaning.
