queering public space and reclaiming blackness: zanele muholi at tate modern

south africa was the first country in the world to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, amongst a series of celebratory justices inaugurated from 1994 by president nelson mandela. this is in complete shock, however, when you first enter the tate modern’s exhibition on south african visual activist zanele muholi. the scars of recent – and on-going – hate crimes against black LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, agender, asexual) are left exposed for all to see in their first series of photographic work ‘only half the picture’ (2002-6). explicit of the unimaginable horror committed to these communities, the series was originally deemed controversial in their native country but only due to its sexual depictions. later images show moments of intimacy that reveal the pain, love and defiance in fact. the previous reviews, shown in the center of the current exhibit, highlight the cause of their work – to raise awareness of injustices and educate.

follow designboom through the exhibition, below, at a preview ahead of the public opening in december 2020.

zanele muholi (b.1972) aftermath 2004
photograph, gelatin silver print on paper 600 x 395 mm
courtesy of the artist and stevenson, cape town/johannesburg and yancey richardson, new york © zanele muholi
(main image: zanele muholi (b.1972) julie I, parktown, johannesburg 2016
photograph, gelatin silver print on paper 660 x 1000 mm
courtesy of the artist and stevenson, cape town/johannesburg and yancey richardson, new york © zanele muholi)

zanele muholi (b.1972) ID crisis 2003
photograph, gelatin silver print on paper 325 x 485 mm
courtesy of the artist and stevenson, cape town/johannesburg and yancey richardson, new york © zanele muholi

‘my mission is to re-write a black queer and trans visual history of south africa for the world to know of our resistance and existence at the height of hate crimes in south africa and beyond,’ states zanele muholi.

zanele muholi (b.1972) katlego mashiloane and nosipho lavuta, ext. 2, lakewise, johannesburg 2007
photograph, inkjet on paper 765 x 765 mm
courtesy of the artist and stevenson, cape town/johannesburg and yancey richardson, new york © zanele muholi

the next rooms of the tate modern’s zanele muholi exhibition speak of defiance in the cause of righting the injustices against black LGBTQIA+. visitors see portraits of transgender women, gay men and gender non-conforming people queering public space. here, large photographs of highly visual, colorful portraits stand with pride against historic backdrops in south africa. from floor to ceiling, a wallpaper of a collective posing on the busy durban beach – segregated during the apartheid – reiterates how these places still need to be normalized for all. this message continues with the brave beauties series (2014-ongoing) where beauty pageant contestants are captured, once again, in defiance. their participation is in the aim of changing the mind-sets in the communities they live in, although this is exactly where they are most likely to be harassed.

zanele muholi (b.1972) miss d’vine II 2007
lambda print 765 x 765 mm
courtesy of the artist and stevenson, cape town/johannesburg and yancey richardson, new york © zanele muholi

collective pride is distinguished as visitors progress through the exhibition. this is because community is key in their cause: muholi works with a large network of collaborators who are all members of the collective, inkanyiso, which means light in isizulu, muholi’s first language; the collective push for raising awareness, equality and building back the black LGBTQIA+ identity; and their mission to educate these communities of the general public. photographs document the group at events such as pride marches and protests. the expansiveness of room 6, titled faces and phases, highlights the ongoing celebration of muholi’s collaborators. some faces feature multiple times to mark and map the person and their experiences at the collective. it strikes a balance between an honors list and memorial for the cause. in fact, some spaces are left black for future partners or those who are no longer active.

zanele muholi (b.1972) roxy 2013
photograph, gelatin silver print on paper 765 x 510 mm
courtesy of the artist and stevenson, cape town/johannesburg and yancey richardson, new york © zanele muholi

the final space of the tate modern’s exhibition characterizes the evolution of zanele muholi’s photography as well as the fight for justice. somnyama ngonyama (2012-ongoing) is a series in which they turn the camera on themselves to explore the politics of race. they refer to personal, reflections, colonial and apartheid histories of exclusion and displacement, and ongoing racism. visitors walk past these portraits, often with the gaze of the artist examining them, to heightened self-reflection. the images are striking in this sense, the photographer has even increased the contrast effect by darkening their skin-tone. it reclaims their history in color, in their native language of isizulu, and in their sexuality. the series is not about showing who they are in comparison to their earlier work; it is about the movement to take back ownership of who they were, currently, and can be in the future.

zanele muholi (b.1972) qiniso, the sails, durban 2019
photograph, gelatin silver print on paper 399 x 260 mm
courtesy of the artist and stevenson, cape town/johannesburg and yancey richardson, new york © zanele muholi

‘I’m reclaiming my blackness, which I feel is continuously performed by the privileged other’ adds zanele muholi.

zanele muholi (b.1972) bona, charlottesville 2015
photograph, gelatin silver print on paper 800 x 506 mm
courtesy of the artist and stevenson, cape town/johannesburg and yancey richardson, new york © zanele muholi

visitors gain the much needed context at the end of the exhibit, as unanswered questions continue to burn and build upon entering the very first room. the space is an archive of the history of modern south africa, starting from around 18th century through the apartheid and to liberation. it theorizes how homosexuality is misconceived on the continent as an import from europe and colonialism. this notion only worsens considering the role of missionaries who promoted christianity and the stereotypes of strong male-female families. this provides the much needed context of why zanele muholi’s activism is an ongoing, imperative battle. despite the many liberations from 1994, the tension of hate runs deep beneath the republic. muholi and the collective are capturing it for south africa and the world to see.

zanele muholi (b.1972) bester I, mayotte 2015
photograph, gelatin silver print on paper 700 x 505 mm
courtesy of the artist and stevenson, cape town/johannesburg and yancey richardson, new york © zanele muholi

exhibition info:

title: zanele muholi

opening date: december 2020

gallery: tate modern

co-curators: yasufumi nakamori, senior curator, internationl art (photography) and sarah allen, assistant curator, tate modern with kerryn greenberg, head of international collection exhibitions, tate, formerly curator, international art, tate modern