Zanele Muholi: Faces and Phases

Zanele Muholi features 10 photographs by internationally acclaimed South African photographer and self-described “visual activist” Zanele Muholi, from her ongoing series of the same title.

Muholi’s work is rooted in social justice and advocacy, and she sees herself equally as an activist and photographer. Through her deeply personal portraits, she strives to present positive images of individuals often confronted by others’ assumptions, stereotypes, and prejudices regarding race, sexuality, and identity. Her subjects look straight at the camera (and the viewer): openly, defiantly, shyly, proudly. “This is not art, this is life,” says Muholi. ”Each and every photograph is someone’s biography.”

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.