Composition Gallery
Zanele Muholi

Zanele Muholi

Zanele Muholi (South Africa, 1972) is a groundbreaking visual activist and photographer, celebrated for their powerful portraits of Black LGBTQIA+ individuals. Their work challenges discrimination and highlights identity, resilience, and dignity. Through projects like Faces and Phases, Muholi has reshaped the global narrative around queer visibility and social justice.

© Zanele Muholi. All rights reserved.

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Zanele Muholi

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Fine artists deal with finery, but I deal with painful material.
- Zanele Muholi
Zanele Muholi is a South African photographer and visual activist whose striking black-and-white pictures highlight the experiences of black lesbian and transgender people in Africa. Muholi was born in the slum of Umlazi, not far from Durban. She earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in Advanced Photography from DUT.

Muholi's images often show personal moments of power and fragility, celebrating the beauty and strength of those who overcome prejudice and brutality. Her goal is to produce a visual history of South Africa's black lesbian and transgender communities in an effort to dismantle hegemonic cultural narratives.

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What is conceptual art?Artwork by John Baldessari

What is conceptual art?

Sometimes referred to as Conceptualism, this is an art form where the idea(s) or concept(s) behind the work take precedence over material concerns and traditional aesthetics. Many conceptual artworks can be created by anyone simply by following written instructions. The concept or idea is the most essential aspect of the artwork.

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Est. 2005 — twenty years of collecting, online.