30.11.2021  •  Art NEWS

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Queer Africa ! Gropius Bau Berlin presents a retrospective by Zanele Muholi, a personal documentary about the LGBTQ community of South Africa in 200 extremely expressive photos

Colonialism for the most part has imposed western ideals, religions and laws upon population groups living in the country. This includes laws targeted at and against members of the LGBTQ+ community. Although South Africa was the first country to legalize same-sex marriages, the year 2021 has been marked by a wave of brutal hate crimes and murders across the LGBTQ+ community. Yet still, Zanele Muholi’s view of South Africa remains one full of positivity. “We are a beautiful country. We have the most magnificent and beautiful people. We are still alive and kindle the hope of getting it right one day.”

This November, Gropius Bau opened the first major exhibition of work by Zanele Muholi in Germany. Muholi self-identifies as a visual activist and has been documenting the life of Black LGBTQIA+ communities since the early 2000s in intimate and powerful photographs across South Africa and beyond. The exhibition in Gropius Bau presents the full range of Muholi’s photographic oeuvre with a collection of more than 200 photographs.

Stephanie Rosenthal, Director of Gropius Bau, tells us : “I am thrilled that visual activist and photographer Zanele Muholi’s first major exhibition in Germany is on display at Gropius Bau. Muholi’s exhibition is a meaningful continuation of our program, emphasizing a plurality of diverse representation and visual forms of empowerment and activism. The focus of Muholi’s work is their practice within a community of participants from South Africa identifying as lesbian, trans* or non-binary. Muholi’s work emphasizes the crucial role of photography in championing visibility for all bodies, and underscores the duty of mutual, caring compassion amid our changing politics in the areas of sex, gender and identity.”

Muholi is co-founder of the Forum for the Empowerment of Women (2002) and founder of Inkanyiso, a forum for queer and visual media (2009). Today, Muholi is forming a new organization whose work is committed to children and young adults. Muholi tells us : “Over the years, I have encouraged participants of my series to visit courses of the Market Photo workshop if they were interested. That’s my way of giving back to the community which has shaped my career. I have founded my mobile photography schools as part of an ongoing mutual educational project by the name of ‘Photo xp’, in order to teach younger generations photographic skills and the necessary tools so they can feel confident about documenting their own lives and those of the people around them.”

Is there a particular reason why part of the photos in ‘Only Half the Picture’ were created in color, while most are black and white? “I am trained in black and white photography, and my understanding of photography, especially when it comes to my work in the darkroom, is closely connected to black and white processes. Together with my team, I came to the conclusion that some images looked better in color, and others were better in black and white. The priority is to convey a message as clearly as possible. (...) ‘Hate Crime Survivor’, ‘ID Crisis’ and ‘Bra’, all in black and white, are not easily pinpointed to a specific time and place, making them more universally suggestive and better suited to demonstrate how the identities and events depicted have lived historically and will do so into perpetuity.


26 Nov 2021 – 13 March, 2022
Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstraße 7, 10963 Berlin Kreuzberg
Open : Wed. – Mon. 10am – 7pm, closed on Tuesdays
Admission : 15 € / reduced 10 € | Online Ticket

 
GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

 
GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

 
GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

 
GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

 
GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

 
GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

 
GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

GROPIUS BAU BERLIN : Zanele Muholi (26 November 2021 to 13 March 2022)

 
GROPIUS BAU BERLIN

GROPIUS BAU BERLIN

 
GROPIUS BAU BERLIN

GROPIUS BAU BERLIN

 
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