
Zanele Muholi (South African, born 1972). Misiwe III, Biljmer, Amsterdam from the series Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness), 2017. Gelatin silver print, edition 6/8, 23 5/8 x 20 1/4 inches (59.9 x 51.4 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Pending Acquisition Funds, 2018 (P2018:8.2). © Zanele Muholi, courtesy of Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York, and Stevenson Gallery, Capetown and Johannesburg
© Zanele Muholi
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© Zanele Muholi
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Zanele Muholi
Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.



Zanele Muholi
South African, born 1972
Misiwe III, Bijlmer, Amsterdam from the series Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness), 2017
gelatin silver print
Edition: 6/8
sheet: 23 5/8 x 20 1/4 inches (59.94 x 51.43 cm); framed: 24 3/4 x 21 1/8 x 1 3/4 inches (62.86 x 53.66 x 4.45 cm)
Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Bequest of Arthur B. Michael, by exchange, 2018
P2018:8.2
More Details
Inscriptions
Provenance
from the artist to Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York;sold to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, October 2, 2018
Class
Work Type
Information may change due to ongoing research.Glossary of Terms
In this self-portrait, South African photographer Zanele Muholi uses light and contrast to exaggerate the darkness of black skin. Muholi’s bearing suggests an unapologetic pride in black identity. “Just like our ancestors,” the artist has said, “we live as black people 365 days a year, and we should speak without fear.” At the same time as it celebrates the beauty of blackness, this photograph also alludes to problematic representations of people of color by white artists throughout the history of art. Set in Bijlmer—a vibrant multicultural community in Amsterdam that is today undergoing rapid development—Muholi exaggerates the brightness of her eyes and lips against her skin, capturing the power of photography as a tool for self-representation
Label from We the People: New Art from the Collection, October 23, 2018–July 21, 2019