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The Arts Intel Report

Zanele Muholi

Zanele Muholi, Bona, 2015.

July 8 – Oct 22, 2023
Europapl. 1, 6002 Luzern, Switzerland

“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, focused on the non-binary winners of Miss Gay Beauty pageants. With 260 photographs, this exhibition spans Muholi’s entire career thus far. —Elena Clavarino

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