For more than two decades Zanele Muholi has been producing a body of striking and evocative photographs that documents the queer communities of their native South Africa. This exhibition at Tate Modern traces the development of Muholi’s work, from the early series Only Half the Picture (2002–06), a series of intimate glimpses of Black bodies and survivors of rape and hate crimes that gained critical acclaim when it was shown in Johannesburg in 2004, to more recent collections including Faces and Phases (2006–14) and Brave Beauties (2014–). Muholi prefers the term ‘visual activist’ to artist and much of their work is deeply political, using images of individuals – including numerous self-portraits – to illuminate various forms of oppression (6 June–26 January 2025).
Find out more from Tate Modern’s website.
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ID Crisis (2003), Zanele Muholi. Courtesy the artist/Yancey Richardson, New York; © Zanele Muholi
Katlego Mashiloane and Nosipho Lavuta, Ext. 2, Lakeside, Johannesburg (2007), Zanele Muholi. Courtesy the artist/Yancey Richardson, New York. © Zanele Muholi
Qiniso, The Sails, Durban (2019), Zanele Muholi. Courtesy the artist/Yancey Richardson, New York; © Zanele Muholi