Approaching photography from a place of visual activism, Johannesburg-based artist Zanele Muholi (b. 1972) — whose preferred pronoun is they — gives visibility to people who often appear in mass media solely through the lens of tragedy. The activist’s striking black-and-white images of Black LGBTQI+ individuals in South Africa help provide an overlooked and stigmatized community a space to freely assert identity and beauty.
Born in Umlazi, South Africa, Muholi studied at the Market Photo Workshop in Newtown, South Africa, and earned an MFA in documentary media at Ryerson University in Toronto. An early series, Only Half the Picture (2003–6), engages with the violent hate crimes against Black LGBTQI+ people in South Africa, portraying the survivors not through their status as victims but by celebrating their dignity and courage. This effort to challenge stereotypes and utilize photography as a platform for self-representation has defined Muholi’s practice. In the ongoing Being series, began in 2007, Muholi illuminates the intimate lives of Black queer couples, while Faces and Phases, started a year earlier, now has hundreds of portraits of Black lesbian and transgender individuals as a living archive.
Other works have concentrated on public spaces that are important sites of South African history, elevating queer bodies as part of this heritage. In a 2012–18 series Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Muholi shifted to self-portraiture, adorning themself with various found objects, from cowrie shells to cable ties, to confront both the exoticization of African people and a legacy of brutal subjugation. A major survey show that opened at the Tate Modern in 2020 recognized Muholi’s impact as an activist and an artist.
Alongside these works raising awareness for LGBTQI+ stories, Muholi has strived toward community advocacy through initiatives such as the cofounding of the Forum for Empowerment of Women (FEW) in 2002 to support Black lesbians in South Africa and Inkanyiso to promote queer activist media, established by Muholi in 2009.
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Mhlazana, ISGM, Boston
By Zanele Muholi
Located in New York, NY
Muholi is a South African visual activist and photographer. Muholi’s self-proclaimed mission is "to re-write a black queer and trans visual history of South Africa for the world to k...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Zibandlela VI, III, and II, The Sails, Durban
By Zanele Muholi
Located in New York, NY
Muholi is a South African visual activist and photographer. Muholi’s self-proclaimed mission is "to re-write a black queer and trans visual history of South Africa for the world to k...
Silver Gelatin
Jeff Stryker
By Greg Gorman
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Greg Gorman (b. 1949) is a renowned fashion photographer who established his reputation in the late 1980's. His bold images are most frequently created in black and white, which he c...
Silver Gelatin
Coney Island
By John Albok
Located in Denton, TX
Unique Vintage gelatin silver print 7 1/4 x 6 1/8 in. Titled, dated, and artist stamp. Born in Munkacs, Hungary, John Albok learned photography as a boy. He came to the U.S. in 1921...
Silver Gelatin
$1,100
H 19.75 in W 16.75 in
Naomi Campbell, Paul Rowland Vintage Portrait Silver Gelatin Print
By Paul Rowland
Located in Surfside, FL
Paul Rowland- He is the one, that everybody knows about, Paul Rowland. A genius in the modeling industry, president of Ford Models New York, owner of Women Model Management & Suprem...
Silver Gelatin
$8,750
H 8 in W 10 in
"Cher (Candid)" gelatin silver print, 1981, framed, unique photograph
By Andy Warhol
Located in Toronto, Ontario
From 1976 until his death in 1987, Andy Warhol was rarely without a camera. Photography was fundamental both to his artistic practice and his engagement with the world around him. Th...
Silver Gelatin
"Chris Harris" silver gelatin print, 1980s, framed
By Greg Gorman
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Greg Gorman (b. 1949) is a renowned fashion photographer who established his reputation in the late 1980's. His bold images are most frequently created in black and white, which he c...
Silver Gelatin
Untitled (Man on Couch)
By Walter Briski Jr.
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print Signed in pencil, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Born in Vinhedo, a small town on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Walter Briski, Jr. began his interests in photography at the age of thirteen. He later moved to the city of Sao Paulo to pursue his passion, and after completing his studies at the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Campinas, he began his career as a fashion photographer working with top national magazines such as “Brazilian Vogue,” “Brazilian Interview,” and “Trip.” Soon after, Briski moved to New York City in pursuit of advancing his career. In search of strengthening his art, he learned to master the technique of black-and-white printing while employed at a highly ranked film production house. There, he printed works for artists such as Bruce Weber, Annie Leibovitz, Gordon Parks, Matthew Barney, Steven Klein, Steven Meisel, Steven Sebring, and Ellen Von Unwerth. In the midst of printing images that were reproduced in magazines such as “Vogue,” “Harper’s Bazaar,” “W,” “L’Uomo Vogue,” “I.D.,” “Arena,” “The New York Times Magazine,” and “Interview,” he also began printing his own photographs. Briski has had the wonderful opportunity to work with top models and celebrities, including the Brewer twins, Carole King...
Silver Gelatin
$11,000
H 8 in W 10 in
ANDY WARHOL "Natalie Wood's Hands" Silver Gelatin Print, 1983
By Andy Warhol
Located in Toronto, Ontario
From 1976 until his death in 1987, Andy Warhol was rarely without a camera. Photography was fundamental both to his artistic practice and his engagement with the world around him. Th...
Silver Gelatin
Cher (Portrait)
By Andy Warhol
Located in Toronto, Ontario
From 1976 until his death in 1987, Andy Warhol was rarely without a camera. Photography was fundamental both to his artistic practice and his engagement with the world around him. Th...
Silver Gelatin
Ian McKellen
By Andy Warhol
Located in Toronto, Ontario
From 1976 until his death in 1987, Andy Warhol was rarely without a camera. Photography was fundamental both to his artistic practice and his engagement with the world around him. Th...
Silver Gelatin
My Thinking Time
By Earlie Hudnall Jr.
Located in Denton, TX
No Edition Signed, titled and dated in pencil on print verso by Earlie Hudnall, Jr. Gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches. Earlie Hudnall, who is one of the most notable African Amer...
Silver Gelatin
$4,000
H 24 in W 20 in
"Joshua on Railroad" gelatin silver print, 1992, framed photograph
By Greg Gorman
Located in Toronto, Ontario
“Joshua on Railroad" USA, 1992 Silver Gelatin Photograph Edition: 1 of 15 Numbered and signed in pencil, lower edge of sheet; signed on mat board with pen (faded) 24"H 20"W (work); ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,500
H 10 in W 8 in
Race, black and white photograph of a man and a Dalmatian by Victor Carnuccio
By Victor Carnuccio
Located in New York, NY
Race, black and white photograph of a man and a Dalmatian by Victor Carnuccio 1993 Signed, titled, dated, and inscribed, verso Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches, sheet 6.875 x 6....
Silver Gelatin
Lerato Dumse, Syracuse, New York
By Zanele Muholi
Located in New York, NY
Signed and numbered in pencil, verso Archival pigment print (Edition of 50) 15 x 11 inches (38.1 x 27.9 cm), sheet 14 x 9.5 inches (35.6 x 24.1 cm), image This artwork is offered ...
Archival Pigment
Ntozakhe II, (Parktown)
By Zanele Muholi
Located in New York, NY
Somnyama Ngonyama (MaID)
Silver Gelatin
Zibuyile I (Syracuse)
By Zanele Muholi
Located in New York, NY
Edition of 8
Silver Gelatin
Vukani I (Paris)
By Zanele Muholi
Located in New York, NY
Edition of 8
Silver Gelatin
Thulani II (Parktown)
By Zanele Muholi
Located in New York, NY
Edition of 8.
Silver Gelatin