Zanele Muholi’s New York show is a political memoir in paint and photography
In New York, South African visual activist Zanele Muholi, best known for chronicling South Africa’s Black trans, queer and intersex communities in photography, unveils their largest exhibition of paintings
![Black and white photo of Zanele Muholi, Wenzeni, City Lodge Hotel, OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg, 2019.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/HfgukpZGTQMPxiGAbJdzCU-415-80.jpeg)
Zanele Muholi, the internationally acclaimed artist and visual activist known for intense, high-contrast photographs, is unveiling their first large-scale exhibition of paintings at Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York.
In ‘Awe Maaah!’, the South African artist’s acrylic-on-canvas works will be staged alongside a presentation of new photographs from Somnyama Ngonyama, (Hail the Dark Lioness), Muholi’s ongoing series of photographic self-portraits.
Collectively, the works further Muholi’s longstanding visual activism, referencing earlier works such as the Blood Mandalas and menstrual blood paintings.
Phupho, 2021.
‘I’m very conscious of the process of making and hope that this connects to the politics of seeing and the politics of acting through seeing. These works ask me what it means to be present,’ says the artist, who had their first major UK survey at London’s Tate Modern in 2020 – which will be travelling throughout Europe this autumn – and took part in Photo 2021, Melbourne earlier this year. ‘I want people to see themselves differently through them too… We are in changing times, the world will have to start afresh, so these become a visual memoir so that those who come after us – seeing when and where these were produced – can get answers about how we lived, what we thought about and our circumstances.’
In Muholi’s paintings, unlike their photographs, colour plays a starring role. Costumery and vibrant colour are harnessed to explore the multiplicity of gender roles and representation. In Zibuyile, Muholi addresses the Zulu tradition of dowry (or ‘lobola’) in which the bride is treated as an asset, exchanged for cattle or cash. In Phiwokakhe, the artist is depicted as a traditionally assertive masculine figure, assured of their place in the world. By contrast, the figure in Itha exudes a vulnerability traditionally associated with femininity.
Zibuyile, 2021
The show channels the collective isolation, intimacy, and confinement brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, but also deeply personal. For the artist, painting surfaced as both a practical response and a contemplative exercise during a time of fear and uncertainty.
Across photography and painting, Muholi plays the roles of participant and image-maker, augmenting ideas around self-representation, collective identity and Black queer visibility.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Thathu I, The Sails, Durban, 2019.
Somile, 2021.
Zimpaphe, L Parktown, 2019.
Cwephesha, 2021.
INFORMATION
Zanele Muholi ‘Awe Maaah!’, 10 September – 16 October 2021, Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York
ADDRESS
525 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011
Harriet Lloyd-Smith was the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Alexander May, founder of LA studio Sized, on the joys of creative polymathy
Creative director Alexander May tells us of the multidisciplinary approach that drives his LA studio Sized and its offspring, a 5,000 sq ft event space and an exhibition series
By Hannah Silver Published
-
50 of America’s top creatives, photographed by Inez & Vinoodh
Photographed exclusively for Wallpaper* by Inez & Vinoodh, we present a portfolio of 50 creatives driving the current discourse on American culture and its dynamic evolution
By Dan Howarth Published
-
Nona Faustine confronts the past in New York
Artist Nona Faustine reframes New York's colonial past in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
By Hannah Silver Published
-
How the west won: Ivan McClellan is amplifying the intrepid beauty of Black cowboy culture
In his new book, 'Eight Seconds: Black Cowboy Culture', Ivan McClellan draws us into the world of Black rodeo. Wallpaper* meets the photographer ahead of his Juneteenth Rodeo
By Tracy Kawalik Published
-
Casa Bosques’ queer-themed book curation comes to New York’s East Village
In Pride Month 2024, Casa Bosques’ pop-up bookstore in The Standard hotel, East Village, offers a stylish haven for literary mavens
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Very few museums were interested in my work until recently’: Amalia Mesa-Bains on her first-ever retrospective
‘Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory’ is a long-overdue exhibition at El Museo del Barrio in New York celebrating five decades of the trailblazing Chicanx artist
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Frieze New York 2024: what to see in and around the city
Frieze New York 2024 (until Sunday 5 May) sees the city’s ample spring season programming celebrated at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Calling NYC grads! Sarabande Foundation invites you to an industry masterclass to pave way into the creative world
‘What Now?’ by Sarabande Foundation is a post-college guide to support graduates in making their next steps, with advice from the likes of Burberry, Thom Browne, and more
By Tianna Williams Published