Zanele Muholi at Tate Modern: Untold stories of South Africa’s LGBTQ+ communities
Everything about Zanele Muholi’s art is political.
Born in 1972 in the township of Umlazi, Muholi grew up at the height of apartheid — a system of racial segregation in South Africa, formally implemented by the white minority regime in 1948.
In 1994, internal unrest and external pressure from the international community resulted in the formation of a new constitution with Nelson Mandela as President – marking the official end of apartheid.
While South Africa’s post-apartheid constitution was the first in the world to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, the LGBTQ+ community remains a target for violence and prejudice to this day.
From June 6, Tate Modern in Bankside, will showcase an exhibition of Muholi’s art to tell the stories of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex lives in South Africa.
More than 300 photographs will be brought together to present the breadth of Muholi’s career to date, from their very first body of work to their latest and on-going series.
Displayed at the exhibition will be one of the artists early series, Only Half the Picture, in which Muholi depicted the complexities of gender and sexuality for the queer community, including moments of love and intimacy as well intense images alluding to traumatic events in the lives of the participants.
Muholi also began an ongoing visual archive of portraits, Faces and Phases, which celebrates and commemorates Black lesbians, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.
Each participant looks directly at the camera, challenging the viewer to hold their gaze, while individual testimonies capture their stories. The project has become a living archive of this community in South Africa and beyond.
New works will be presented from Muholi’s acclaimed series of dramatic self-portraits entitled Somnyama Ngonyama (‘Hail the Dark Lioness’ in isiZulu). Turning the camera on themself, Muholi adopts different poses and characters to address issues of race and representation.
From scouring pads and latex gloves to rubber tires and cable ties, everyday materials are transformed into politically loaded props. The resulting images delve into themes of labour, racism, Eurocentrism and sexual politics, often commenting on events in South Africa’s history.
Zanele Muholi’s work will be displayed at Tate Modern from June 6, until January 25, 2025.
Pictured top: Zanele Muholi Qiniso, The Sails, Durban 2019 (Picture: Zanele Muholi Courtesy of the Artist and Yancey Richardson, New York)
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