The South African according to the black and lgbt community in Zanele Muholi's shots. In Rome.

The Cembalo Gallery in Rome offers, through April 6, 2019, a selection of some 20 photographic works by South African visual activist Zanele Muholi (Umlazi, 1972) as part of the exhibition Nobody can love you more than you, curated by Giulia Tosetti. Born in Umlazi, Durban, Muholi lives in Johannesburg. In the artist’s words, the goal of her research is "to rewrite a visual history of South Africa from the perspective of the black, lesbian and trans community, so that the world will know our resilience and existence at a time when hate crimes are at their peak, in South Africa and beyond."

Drawing on the language of theater, the artist plays various characters and archetypes, using wigs, costumes, and everyday objects, from clothespins for hanging clothes, to metal straws for cleaning pots and pans, to straws for drinks, to hangers for hanging clothes. Contrasting his skin, and sometimes clearing his lips, he accentuates his physical features to reaffirm his identity. Looking into the eyes of her self-representation, in all its reflection of black splendor, many may find themselves looking away quickly, out of embarrassment or awe at the intensity of her gaze. Standing in front of any of his photographs therefore requires an individual exercise in self-assessment and deep analysis vis-à-vis a person who has laid bare before the lens of the lens and bared his instances. Almost as if it were an asynchronous tide, after an initial suggestion, a second, more rational level of reflection then comes to the viewer’s mind about the motivations that sustain this individual sacrifice so non-negotiable, relating to the political significance of his images. In order to understand this, it is necessary to ask what a minority feels about experiencing its condition on a daily basis, both physical and real, and perceptual and environmental.

The exhibition was produced in collaboration with Tosetti Value, the Family Office. Zanele Muholi, after taking an Advanced Photography course at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg, Muholi earned a Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media at Ryerson University in Toronto in 2009. He has been an honorary professor at the Arts/Hochschule für Künste in Bremen since 2013. Among numerous awards, he has received the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Infinity Award from the International Center of Photograhy. Recent solo exhibitions include: Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta; Fotografiska, Stockholm; LUMA Westbau, Zurich (2018); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2017); and Autograph ABP, London (2017). The artist produced an urban project entitled Masihambisane - on Visual Activism for Performa 17, New York (2017).

For all information you can visit the official website of Galleira del Cembalo.
Pictured: Zanele Muholi, Senzekile II, Cincinnati (2016).

The South African according to the black and lgbt community in Zanele Muholi's shots. In Rome.

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