Zanele Muholi‘s exhibition was the star show of the The Aspen Art Fair 2024.
Zanele Muholi, a South African visual activist, humanitarian and art practitioner presents a trio of photographic works from their iconic Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness) series . Adorned with crowns made from clothesline pins, decorated with lipstick made from toothpaste and Vaseline, the guerrilla nature with which these images are composed reveals the urgency to document the self and claim visibility. Muholi’s participation in The Aspen Art Fair, where they were one of the three selected artists in residence at the fair, coincides with the artists autobiographical solo exhibition currently on view at Southern Guild Los Angeles (until 31 August) and a major survey on show at Tate Modern in London until 26 January, 2025.
Muholi’s body of work focuses on the documentation and celebration of the lives of South Africa’s Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex communities. Born in Umlazi, Durban and now residing in Cape Town, Muholi currently works between Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Beginning in 2006, Muholi responded to the continuing discrimination and violence faced by the LGBTQIA+ community by photographing Black lesbian and transgender individuals, resulting in the ongoing portrait project, Faces and Phases. The more recent series Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness), shifts the lens with Muholi becoming both participant and image-maker.
