Created in 1996, right after the abolition of apartheid, the South African constitution was the first to explicity prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Yet black members of the LGBTQIA+ community continue to be targets of violence and prejudice. The work of Zanele Muholi starts here, the artist who is a self-defined “visual activist”, uses a camera to fight injustice. For the first time in France, an ample retrospective pays homage to the South African artist at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie - on display are over 200 photos, videos and installations created starting in the early years of the new millennium and spanning up to today. In their individual and collective portraits, Muholi offers black members of the LGBTQIA+ community the visibility denied to them elsewhere, questioning the most deep-seated stereotypes and promoting a culture of reciprocal respect. A respect which is present in every work where the artist invited their subjects to take an active part in the process, choosing clothing, poses and locations for the shots. Finally, Muholi turns the lens on themselves, challenging the stereotypes historically associated with black women.
