The extensive presentation traces Muholi’s career over twenty-plus years and includes works from various series including their first body of work, Only Half the Picture (2002 – 06), as well as Being (2006 – ongoing), Brave Beauties (2014- ongoing), Faces and Phases (2006 – ongoing) and their most prolific series to date: Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness) (2012–present). For these iconic images, Muholi turns the camera on themself, exploring self-portraiture in deeply personal and political ways. They experiment with taking on different personas and archetypes, transforming everyday objects into props and attire that reference South African sociopolitical history, contemporary culture and personal events from their own life.

Muholi has always used the camera to explore issues such as gender identity, representation and race, with an eye for making space for Black queer life in all the places where it hasn’t been allowed to exist or flourish before. Activism is central to Muholi’s artistic practice, as is education and celebration. This is evident in their calling attention to the trauma and violence enacted on queer people, while simultaneously celebrating their beauty, bravery and resilience. For Muholi, photography is a formidable tool for both resistance and social change.

Also on view is a selection of recent paintings, a medium Muholi begun to explore during lockdown in 2020, as well as a bronze sculpture and film (the documentary Difficult Love, 2010).