Protest and Tenderness - Zanele Muholi at the Tate Modern

Love and intimacy, but also the prejudice and violence aimed at the LGBTQIA community despite the promise of equality it received in 1996 in South Africa’s constitution. The over 260 photos with which South African activist Zanele Muholi retraces their entire career at the Tate Modern, celebrate and document a multifaceted life lived at the service of South Africa’s lesbian, gay, trans, queer and intersexual community. In Faces and Phases, every participant stares into the camera, subject to the gaze of spectators. These images bear witness to a community that has risked its life for its members simply being themselves in the face of oppression and harsh discrimination. Another key series of works includes Brave Beauties, which tells of the emancipated protagonists, the trans women winners of beauty contests, while tender images of couples simply challenge taboos and stereotypes. Work, racism, Euro-centrism and sexual politics are the through-line of an exhibition organised by the Tate Modern in collaboration with the Maison Européenne de la Photographie of Paris, Gropius Bau of Berlin and the Bildmuseet of the University of Umeå.