Tate Modern Explores the Power of Zanele Muholi's Work in Latest Survey
Spotlighting over 260 images that champion South Africa’s LGBTQ+ community.
Zanele Muholi is one of today’s most celebrated photographers, with their work exhibited worldwide. Muholi will be the subject of an impending survey at Tate Modern in June and the presentation will feature over 260 photographs, showcasing the full scope of their career.
Identifying as a visual activist, Muholi has documented and honored the lives of South Africa’s Black lesbian, gay, trans, queer, and intersex communities since the early 2000s. Their early series, Only Half the Picture, contrasts moments of love and intimacy with stark images hinting at traumatic events, highlighting ongoing violence and prejudice despite South Africa’s 1996 constitution promising equality. In Faces and Phases, each subject looks directly at the camera, challenging the viewer to meet their gaze. These images, paired with personal testimonies, create a growing archive of a community living authentically despite oppression.
Significant series include Brave Beauties, celebrating empowered non-binary people and trans women, many of whom have won Miss Gay Beauty pageants, and Being, a collection of tender images of couples challenging stereotypes and taboos. Moreover, in the ongoing series Somnyama Ngonyama—meaning ‘Hail the Dark Lioness’—Muholi turns the camera on themself. These powerful, introspective images explore themes such as labor, racism, Eurocentrism, and sexual politics.
Inspired by Muholi’s 2020-21 exhibition at Tate Modern, this show includes new works created since then, offering a comprehensive look at an artist whose work is both a celebration and a powerful act of resistance.
Tate Modern
Bankside
London SE1 9TG
