Artist Zanele Muholi, spokesperson for the oppression of black and LGBTQIA+ people in South Africa, exhibits his pictures in Paris

Nearly 200 photographs, videos and archives… The exhibition presented at the European House of Photography (MEP), in Paris, dates back to the very beginning of Zanele Muholi’s career. A non-binary photographer, the artist has been testifying for more than 20 years, notably through self-portraits, to racist and LGBTphobic discrimination in South African society. This is the first time that a retrospective of his work has been presented in France. Since its opening, it has met with great success.

LGBTQIA+, target of violence and prejudice

The looks are intense. The multitude of portraits of Zanele Muholi hung on the walls of the MEP challenges. Making visible and defending those who are under-represented in his country, these are the objectives of the artist from Durban, who defines himself as “visual activist”. The life of the LGBTQIA+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual+) is at the heart of her artistic work. “The idea for this series is inspired by the fact that this population suffers a lot of violence. There are a lot of atrocities”, explains Laurie Hurwitz, curator of the exhibition.

Through this retrospective, Zanele Muholi recounts the prejudices, discrimination but also the resistance of lesbians and transgender people through, in particular, beauty contests. It highlights their courage, their dignity in the face of the humiliations suffered.

The cause of black women

The place of the black woman, in a country which lived more than 40 years of apartheid (1948 – 1991), is the other cause defended by Zanele Muholi, who does not hesitate to stage. In his self-portraits, Zanele Muholi accentuated the darkness of his skin to assert his identity. Among these photographs, a cliché refers to a practice that has traumatized generations of South Africans. “There’s an interesting image that refers to something very humiliating we did during apartheid. We used to put crayons in black people’s hair. If the crayons fell out, you were considered white. they were held back by frizzy hair, we were classified as black”, reports Laurie Hurwitz. These militant works encourage the public to question received ideas. They are to be discovered until May 21, 2023.

Zanele Muholi Retrospective
European House of Photography, 5/7 rue de Fourcy, 75004 Paris
Exhibition to see until May 21, 2023, open from Wednesday to Sunday