‘I Want to Be Unplugged’: Watch Artist Zanele Muholi Take Their Studio on the Road to Photograph Trans Women in South Africa

The South African-born artist Zanele
Muholi is not a fan of boundaries. As a self-proclaimed “visual
activist,” Muholi, who uses the pronoun “they,” refuses to be
pigeonholed by sexual orientation, gender, or profession, though
all of those things are integral aspects of Muholi’s identity.

Britain’s Tate Modern museum was planning to open a major survey of
Muholi’s work in late April, bringing more than 260 photographs
together in a sweeping overview of their career. Unfortunately, it
seems that lockdown is one of the few things that can derail
Muholi’s roving spirit. (The show is currently on hold until the
museum reopens at a yet to be determined date.)

In an exclusive interview with Art21 as part of the “Extended
Play” series, Muholi explained what prompted their “mobile studio
initiative,” which involves traveling around to various communities
to reach a wider range of photographic subjects. “We are citizens
of this country, which is democratic,” Muholi says in the video,
“Any space is possible space… I don’t want to be in any studio. I
want to be unplugged.”

As a result, the artist opted to travel around South Africa,
making personal connections with members of the vast LGBTI
community there, bringing creativity and a celebration of diversity
to every photo shoot. In this video, Muholi is seen at work on the
“Brave Beauties” series, capturing portraits of trans women who
have historically been discriminated against all around the
world.

When the photos, which will be included at the Tate show, go on
view at Stevenson Gallery in Cape Town, Muholi invites the
participants into the gallery to write directly on the walls.
“Creating the activist wall, it’s a way in which we destabilize the
peaceful imagery of the gallery setting” Muholi says, explaining that giving these women
the agency to infiltrate the white-walled gallery is empowering,
“it seems as if there’s no agency…but they have their own personal
stories to tell.”

Watch the video, which originally appeared as part
of Art21’s PBS series Art in the Twenty-First Century, below.
“Zanele Muholi” at Tate Modern is on hold
indefinitely, more information can be found on the
website.

This is an installment of “Art on Video,” a collaboration
between Artnet News and Art21 that brings you clips of newsmaking
artists. A new series of the nonprofit Art21’s flagship series Art
in the Twenty-First Century is available now on PBS. Catch episodes
of other series like “New York Close Up” and “Extended Play” and
learn about the organization’s educational programs
at Art21.org.

The post ‘I Want to Be Unplugged’: Watch Artist Zanele
Muholi Take Their Studio on the Road to Photograph Trans Women in
South Africa appeared first on artnet News.