Where: Stedelijk, Amsterdam
Pictures Allowed: Yes
Kid Friendly: Yes
Open: Saturday – Thursday 10.00 -18.00, Friday 10.00 -22.00
Price: €17,50 / €9
Zanele Muholi’s self-titled solo show is her first in the Netherlands. The South African photographer, visual artist and self-proclaimed "insider" for the LGBTQI community has captured images of the black lesbian, gay and transgender community.
The selection of photographic work includes images from the award-winning series Faces and Phases, Brave Beauties - a collection of portraits of feminine gay men and transgender women and her headlining show Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness, 2015 to the present). The manipulation of light and use of props in Muholi’s self-portraits accentuate her blackness, defying the stereotypical image of a black woman. The artist uses hair as a primary material, as it is often viewed as a central facet of African identity and expression.
Through Muholi’s evocative photographs she sheds light on a community who have constitutionally been protected since 1996, yet remain at risk of being abused, discriminated, sexual assaulted and victims of hate crimes. This exhibition is a visual history of black queer and trans lives in South Africa and beyond.
Words: Maggie Ibiam
Zanele Muholi - Bester I, Mayotte, 2015