ZANELE MUHOLI
If you go to the Brooklyn Museum now through November 1, you´ll see an exhibit that will take your breath away. It features photographs of queer South Africans, along with testimonies about anti-gay violence and rape, and reminds us, so close to Pride, that there are still places in the world where queer folk must live under the most awful circumstances. The exhibit is called “Isibonelo/Evidence” and the photographer, South African native Zanele Muholi, is taking the art world by storm. Shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, Muholi considers herself a “visual activist.” (“Fine artists deal with finery,” she explained to the BBC, “but I deal with painful material. I´m an artist who uses visuals for activism to deal with the many political issues that affect human beings.”) Muholi has exhibited many times since her first solo show in 2004, and her work has been collected in numerous publications. Her goal is not only to reflect a light on the inhumane conditions the South African LGBT population faces, but also to use the money she receives to give back to young artists, as part of her mentoring program. “It´s not just me who is here at the museum; we are here,” she recently told The New Yorker. “My photographs portray people who are participating in making their own history.” -GH
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