Zanele Muholi self-identifies as a visual activist and has been documenting the life of Black LGBTQIA+ communities since the early 2000s in intimate and powerful photographs across South Africa and beyond. From 26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022, the Gropius Bau will host Muholi’s first major survey in Germany.
Alongside their earlier, lesser-known series, the show will feature recent works to display the full range of Muholi’s photographic practice, which addresses sexual politics, racial violence, communal resistance and self-assertion. Muholi’s photography is not only a gesture of empowerment, but consistently challenges the heteronormative gaze while building a network of affinity and new pictorial histories. Series such as Faces and Phases and Brave Beauties have contributed to a growing visual archive that celebrates Black queer and trans selfhood, acting as a testimony of those who risk their lives to live authentically in the face of repression and discrimination.
Curated by Natasha Ginwala, Yasufumi Nakamori (Senior Curator International Art (Photography), Tate Modern) and Sarah Allen (Assistant Curator, Tate Modern)
