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
Catherine Guinness & Jed Johnson in Aspen
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This work is unique. Stamped on the reverse by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Foundation number also on verso. The work comes with an Authentication Letter from th...
Silver Gelatin
Pulqueria, Mexico, 1926
By Edward Weston
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Museo De Arte Moderno, Mexico Bosque De Chapultepec, Exposicion Inaugural El Dia 20 De Septiembre De 1964’ stamp on verso with artist, title, collection, EW birth/death date, number,...
Silver Gelatin
$769
H 11.74 in W 7.92 in D 0.02 in
Jackie Onassis, new girl in town; Black and White; Paris, 1970s, 29, 8 x 20, 1 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis (July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, and photographer who became First Lady of the United States as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. Her popularity as First Lady was due to her devotion to historical preservation of the White House, her fashion sense, and her devotion to her children, which endeared her to the American public. During her lifetime, Jackie was regarded as an international fashion icon. Her ensemble of a pink Chanel suit and matching pillbox hat that she wore in Dallas, Texas, when the president was assassinated on November 22, 1963, has become a symbol of her husband's death. (wikipedia) Description: Jacky Onassis, new...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
Tina, Glendale, 1922
By Edward Weston
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Titled with artist's reference number on back of mount. Stamped, 'Edward Weston printed by' and signed by Cole Weston on back of mount. Printed later by Cole Weston from the original...
Silver Gelatin
Neil, 1925
By Edward Weston
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Titled with artist's reference number on back of mount. Stamped, 'Edward Weston printed by' and signed by Cole Weston on back of mount. Negative Code 25PO. Printed later by Cole West...
Silver Gelatin
Portrait of Neil Weston, 1933
By Edward Weston
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Initialed and dated mount recto.
Silver Gelatin
Portrait of Sisters In 18th C. Costume, 1909
By Edward Weston
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed on the front of the print.
Silver Gelatin
William Edmondson, Sculptor, Tennessee
By Edward Weston
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Titled with artist's reference number on back of mount. Stamped, 'Edward Weston printed by' and signed by Cole Weston on back of mount. Printed later by Cole Weston from the original...
Silver Gelatin
Ozzy Osbourne and Andy Warhol
By Andy Warhol
Located in Belgravia, London, London
Unique Gelatin Silver Print Paper size: 8 x 10 inches Framed size: 23.75 x 25.25 inches Provenance: Private collection, New York This work originates from the Estate of Andy Warhol, and thence, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. This work comes with a certificate of provenance and an entry into the Catalogue Raisonne held by the Warhol Foundation.
Silver Gelatin
$421
H 21.66 in W 27.56 in D 1.38 in
Wendy Resting, Las Vegas - Contemporary Portrait Color Photography
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
'Wendy Resting', from Richard Heeps 'Man's Ruin' Series. This contemporary portrait is part of a sequence of artworks photographing Wendy at the Rockabilly Weekender, Viva Las Vegas....
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin
$400
H 10 in W 8 in D 0.07 in
Bette Davis - George Hurrell Hollywood Photograph Vintage 1940
By George Hurrell
Located in Glenford, NY
Bette Davis iconic portrait by famed Hollywood art photographer George Hurrell from 1940. It is stamped on the verso with authentic Hurrell identification. This is a original mint ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,410
H 8.15 in W 10.01 in D 0.02 in
The Beatles, Office, Black and White Photography, 20, 7 x 25, 4 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
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