Dina Goldstein went to New York on assignment in the aftermath of September 11 when the city was still in a stupor of disbelief, anguish and fear. The tragedy was a thunderbolt that cracked open a new millennium, shifting the course of people and politics, and the tenor of the times, darker now, for years to come. In the decade ahead, Goldstein became a mother twice over, and remained working as an editorial photographer. Her deft hand for portraiture is evident throughout this period. The internationally-renowned architect Arthur Erickson looking sharp as an owl in his beloved garden; pioneer modernist Gordon Smith still creatively vital despite his infirmities; and author Douglas Coupland splaying his fingers over his face like a mask, the pomo trickster playing a juvenile game. Still, Goldstein was determined to dig deeper into collective society and, somewhat unexpectedly, found a rich quarry close to home.

In 2004, Goldstein first exhibited Trackrecord, a personal project that was the culmination of 2 years spent weekly at Hastings Park Racecourse on Vancouver’s eastside, a once iconic gambling venue then beginning to fade. The project allowed her the freedom to pursue her own curiosity and create her own world. A CBC tv news story from the time interviews Goldstein at the track and shows her – charming, dogged –  encouraging hoped-for subjects to agree to be photographed. One track regular, Theodore, teases that Goldstein is a hustler and she laughs it off. But she shows a natural affinity for this demi-monde crowd of hustlers and housewives and beauty queens gone long in the tooth, regular folk, all out for a thrill, some camaraderie, a few bucks. Trackrecord proved a turning point. Goldstein found her pace as an artist – among subcultural superheroes to which she could harness a larger message, her own narrative.

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© Barry Dumka/BCREATIVE CONSULTING