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
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.
‘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.
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
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
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.
-
Rio Kobayashi’s new furniture bridges eras, shown alongside Fritz Rauh’s midcentury paintings at Blunk Space
Furniture designer Rio Kobayashi unveils a new series, informed by the paintings of midcentury artist Fritz Rauh, at California’s Blunk Space
By Ali Morris Published
-
New York restaurant Locanda Verde’s second outpost will transport you to a different time and place
Locanda Verde’s expansive new Hudson Yards osteria exudes a sophisticated yet intimate atmosphere overflowing with art treasures
By Adrian Madlener Published
-
LVMH watch week 2025: everything we know so far
Our guide to LVMH Watch Week 2025, taking place in New York and Paris, starting 21 January; keep an eye out for our updates
By James Gurney Published
-
What is RedNote? Inside the social media app drawing American users ahead of the US TikTok ban
Downloads of the Chinese-owned platform have spiked as US users look for an alternative to TikTok, which faces a ban on national security grounds. What is Rednote, and what are the implications of its ascent?
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Architecture and the new world: The Brutalist reframes the American dream
Brady Corbet’s third feature film, The Brutalist, demonstrates how violence is a building block for ideology
By Billie Walker Published
-
Inside Luna Luna: the amusement park designed by artists lands in New York
‘Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy’ – featuring rides by Basquiat, Lichtenstein, Hockney, Haring, and Dalí – has opened at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Henni Alftan’s paintings frame everyday moments in cinematic renditions
Concurrent exhibitions in New York and Shanghai celebrate the mesmerising mystery in Henni Alftan’s paintings
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Brutalism in film: the beautiful house that forms the backdrop to The Room Next Door
The Room Next Door's production designer discusses mood-boarding and scene-setting for a moving film about friendship, fragility and the final curtain
By Anne Soward Published
-
'There’s an anxiety under all of it': Violet Dennison in New York
Violet Dennison debuts abstract paintings with new show 'Damaged Self' at Tara Downs Gallery
By Mary Cleary Published
-
‘Gas Tank City’, a new monograph by Andrew Holmes, is a photorealist eye on the American West
‘Gas Tank City’ chronicles the artist’s journey across truck-stop America, creating meticulous drawings of fleeting moments
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Mark Armijo McKnight’s bodily landscapes capture the tactile serenity of the American West
The artist’s new exhibition at the Whitney Museum, which is organised by the museum curator Drew Sawyer, offers a succinct window into his contemplative suggestion of queering a landscape
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published