Dina Goldstein’s first foray into tableau was in 2007, when she was inspired by personal events to produce work critical of the “happily ever after” motif, exploited by Walt Disney and embraced by Western society. As a feminist and new mother, she was disturbed about the stereotypical societal tropes Disney was perpetrating about women and girls. Fallen Princesses (2007- 2009), is 10 piece series that features humanized fairy tale Princesses dealing with modern day scourges such as Cancer, addiction, obesity, war and environmental degradation. In 2015 Dina was awarded the Prix Virginia, an international prize for Women Photographers, and a Fallen Princesses exhibit was mounted in Paris, France.

Dina’s next project, In The Dollhouse (2012), a highly conceptualized 10 part sequential narrative plays out within a very pink adult sized dollhouse, and stars human Barbie and Ken dolls. In this alternate reality Barbie breaks down and cuts off her long blond locks, as Ken emerges liberated discovering his authentic self. In The Dollhouse ignites discourse and debate about unattainable beauty ideals, the myth of perfection, while challenging the concept of ‘beauty as power’ and a source of ‘happiness’. The series is widely exhibited and disseminated, most notably garnering a request from the Musee D’Orsay In Paris, France, to include, “Haircut,” within its 2013 Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera catalogue. In The Dollhouse pieces are also included within the FotoMuseo, Colombia collection.

In 2013 Dina opened her studio ‘XX’, with a retrospective to celebrate 20 years of photography. For this exhibition Goldstein selected 20 pivotal pieces that contributed to shaping her vision.

Her next undertaking, a massive initiative, Gods Of Suburbia (2014), is a critical exploration of established and fringe religions. Deities, drawn from polytheistic to Abrahamic tradition are humanized, moralized and thrust into modernity. By offering an iconoclastic interpretation of how ancient belief systems fit into modernity’s three pillars: technology, science and secularism, the surreal incongruities created challenge viewers to contemplate the relevance of ancient ethics and inherent belief systems. The series has been exhibited internationally at museums, festivals and galleries. The Last Supper remains most popular in Italy.

Extrapolating upon Dina Goldstein’s past themes of identity within Western culture, Modern Girl (2016) re-imagines the adored and iconic illustrated advertising posters of 1930s Shanghai, China. The project includes diptych portraits, exploring diasporic identity, and 12 satirical ads comprised of photographic portraits paired with imagined products. The series encourage critical thinking about materialism, excessive commercialism and the use of female models to sell products. The Modern Girl exhibition opened November 2016 in Paris, France.

Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden (2017), was commissioned by the Contemporary Jewish Museum Of San Francisco for the group exhibit Jewish Folktales Retold: Artist as Maggid; based on 100 Jewish tales, collected and retold by folklorist Howard Schwartz, in the book ‘Leaves From The Garden Of Eden’. For this Goldstein photographed a series of 11 large-scale black and white theatrical images, modernized scenes from each of the four primary types of tales: fairy tales, folktales, supernatural tales and mystical tales. The series features rich and ethnically diverse characters, made up of divine royalty, temptresses, supernatural spirits, and Hasidic figure. Goldstein uses dreamscapes and symbolism to explore, and subvert popular traditional Jewish themes like destiny, temptation, justice, wisdom, blind faith and circumstance. Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden is a traveling series, exhibited at the Museo Ebraico, Venice, in 2018, and currently being presented internationally at Jewish museums and centers.

Dina Goldstein’s latest work The 10 Commandments (2019), inspired by the election of Donald Trump in 2016, critiques the hypocrisy and misogyny displayed within the US body politic. The series seeks to examine the socio-political makeup of America through its political icons, the presidential figures that mark the most notable and controversial chapters in American history. Each tableau features a President portrayed through the prism of their politics, popularity and/or notoriety, further contextualized by a contemporary backdrop, and assigned one of the postulates of the Ten Commandments. Although most political of her work yet, it aligns with the theme she continues to revisit in her art, one of disillusionment.