Photographer Zanele Muholi’s new book of portraits gives visual voice to the plight of ‘queer’ black women, writes Same Mdluli.
It is no coincidence that the publication of South African photographer Zanele Muholi’s latest book coincides with the campaign for 16 days of activism for no violence against women and children. Each year the campaign is a chilling reminder that violence against those who are deemed vulnerable has become a disturbingly intrinsic part of the South African psyche.
It is one of those campaigns that should not require special days set aside to highlight its severity, but perhaps this is where the nexus between Muholi’s work and the mainstream media lies – where this relationship starts to transcend the medium of photography.
Following her debut in the contemporary art realm, Muholi’s work has been guided by an iconography rooted in the tradition of black-and-white photography as well as that of portraiture. Faces and Phases 2006-2014 (Steidl) is thus as much of a curatorial project as the exhibitions of Muholi’s award-winning work have been. In this publication, however, there is a peculiar emphasis on allegories relating to religion, history and aesthetics.
Its size and shape, for example, resembles a Bible and the 365 pages can in some ways be read as daily scriptures, all of which encompass a reality of violation and discrimination cloaked, paradoxically, in a message of self-love, triumph and acceptance.
Constructing a narrative
As a publication framed by contemporary art practice, it employs a range of strategies for the viewer to interact with its content. These highlight the publication as part of a selection process, one that begins to construct a particular narrative. It’s a narrative that, unlike the often confrontational nature of Muholi’s exhibitions, creates a sense of intimacy and personal space, both in its format and in the inclusion of testimonies, memoirs and poetry by her subjects.
An authoritative voice
It is not surprising that the publication concludes with a portrait of Muholi herself. Unlike the other portraits, which appear to be congruous with a specific narrative, her self-portrait presents an optical illusion of the leopard-print shirt she is wearing against a leopard-print background. It positions Muholi as an authoritative voice but also as a subject – which, like her work, raises a larger question about her intended audience.
In other words, given the celebratory and educational context of the book, one has to wonder: On whose shelf will this publication eventually end up?
Full report see Mail & Guardian
Zanele Muholi’s Faces and Phases 2006-2014 has been published by Steidl and The Walther Collection
