Zanele MUHOLI (1972)
Provenance : Provenance: SBK Art Gallery, Amsterdam. Acquired from the above in by the present owner
Exhibited :
Literature :
Notes : Note: From an ‘insider position’, Muholi photographs the black lesbian and transgender community in South Africa. Starting with her very first work, Only Half the Picture, (2006), her arresting, powerful and sometimes witty images have focused eyes on a community that, while it has been constitutionally protected since 1996, remains at risk of horrendous abuse, discrimination and ‘curative’ rape. Muholi: “We’ve lost so many people to hate crimes… you never know if you’ll see someone again the next day.” As a young woman, Zanele Muholi was a hairdresser, and made the move to photography after taking the Market Photo Workshop, a photo training course established by the celebrated South African photographer David Goldblatt in Johannesburg for young students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Hair and fashion, or at least an awareness of apparel and presentation, would continue to play a key part in Muholi’s work. The photographic sequence Brave Beauties (2014 to the present) is an ode to the seductive art and extravaganza of transgenders, with explicit references to fashion and glamour shoots. In the series Somnyama Ngonyama she plays with the highly intricate African hairstyles that often correlate with culture and identity, by sporting hair creations fashioned from the most banal household items like clothes pegs or scouring sponges. This series is also ongoing, and on completion will consist of 365 self-portraits, one for each day of the year. In the Netherlands, the work of Zanele Muholi was previously seen in group shows, and is represented in various Dutch collections, including that of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Muholi’s self-appointed 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 SA and beyond'. She is the recipient of numerous prestigious prizes for her work and, in 2013, was awarded the Prins Claus Award. Muholi lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Condition_report : Condition: This work is in excellent condition.
