Two photographs by self-described visual activist Zanele Muholi, taken in 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa, are now on view in Mia’s lobby.
The artist, whose use of they/them pronouns is intentionally pluralistic to acknowledge their ancestors, began this series of portraits in 2006, centered on the lives of Black trans and queer people in Africa. And they’re still at it, the project becoming a kind of quest “to rewrite a Black queer and trans visual history of South Africa,” Muholi says, “for the world to know of our resistance and existence.” This determination is memorably reflected in the directness of each sitter’s gaze, the poise and self-confidence with which they have composed themselves for the camera.
You can read more about Muholi’s work in this recent interview and hear them describe it in this video from a 2020 mid-career survey at the Tate in London.