MUHOLI XXIII (I) ,2023
Provenance : Provenance: Muholi Art Institute, Cape Town.
Exhibited : Aspire Art, Cape Town, 'Embodying Her', 17 February to 4 March 2023.
Literature :
Notes : COLLECTOR'S NOTE Renowned for their intense, high-contrast photographs, artist Zanele Muholi has since 2020, ventured into new artistic avenues, which include painting and sculpture to broaden her practice and visual activism. In preparation for the group exhibition Embodying Her, co-curated with Beathur Mgoza Baker in Cape Town in early 2023, Muholi – in collaborative spirit – joined forces with the Quqambile Beading Collective to produce this thought-provoking and arresting piece in strung glass beads. In this self-titled work, utilising an extreme close-up of a self-portrait image, Muholi continues to play the dual roles of participant and image-maker, to augment ideas around self-representation, collective identity and Black queer visibility. Similar to the artist’s recent paintings, yet unlike the photographs, colour plays an important role. Here, vibrant hues are harnessed to explore the multiplicity of gender and identity roles and their characterisation. Visually intense and conceptually powerful, this work is not only deeply personal but another artistic coup for the artist in confronting the gaze and addressing the politics of seeing - and the politics of acting through seeing.
Condition_report : The condition is excellent.
