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The Arts Intel Report

Zanele Muholi

Zanele Muholi, Qiniso, The Sails, Durban, 2019.

Feb 1 – May 21, 2023
5/7 Rue de Fourcy, 75004 Paris, France

“If I wait for someone else to validate my existence,” says the acclaimed South African photographer Zanele Muholi, “it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself.” Muholi, who uses the pronouns “they” and “them,” is determined not to be shortchanged. Pointedly, in black and white, Muholi documents the beauty of their country’s often disregarded LGBTQIA+ communities. The portrait series “Brave Beauties,” for example, focuses on the non-binary winners of Miss Gay Beauty pageants. With more than 200 photographs, this exhibition spans Muholi’s entire career thus far. —Elena Clavarino

Photo: © Zanele Muholi/courtesy of the Artist and Stevenson,Cape Town/Johannesburg and Yancey Richardson, New York