Among the personas photographer Zanele Muholi adopts in their self-portraits, two defining features tie the images to the artist: their darkened skin tone and the brightness of their eyes. Myriad details distinguish the various characters Muholi inhabits within the frame, but these two contrasting elements sear the artist indelibly into the mind of the viewer. Muholi immediately draws us into the worlds they create; they are spaces that defy binaries and traverse margins. But it’s when Muholi directs their gaze toward others that the mission of their work comes into full focus. By engaging their subjects and empowering them to tell their own stories, the work becomes more than an affirmation of presence; it is a place of healing.
Muholi has conducted her explorations of visibility during the span of a 20-year career that was examined in the recent show, “Eye Me” at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and is the subject of an expansive encore presentation of a major survey at the Tate Modern in London (through January 26, 2025). Both shows present a portrait of an artist as a shapeshifter whose eye, material focus, and purpose have evolved alongside the images themselves. The Tate show in particular illuminates the experiences, influences, history, and social dynamics that inform Muholi’s artistic vision.