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Zanele Muholi in ‘Duet’ at WSA, New York
21 Aug 2025 (2 min) read
Two lightboxes by artist and visual activist Zanele Muholi will be part of Duet, an exhibition running from 4 to 8 September, concurrently with The Armory Show 2025 in New York.
Comprising presentations from 11 select galleries, as well as a group show, each installed in its own space, the exhibition is curated by Kyle DeWoody and Zoe Lukov from WSA. The presentation will inaugurate The Mall on the newly renovated third and fourth floors at 161 Water Street, a hub designed to host experiences at the intersection of art, design and commerce. “This new format offers a fresh way to experience and collect art – a platform for galleries we admire, at a time when new models for engaging with artists and audiences are paramount”, explains Lukov.
Inspired by conversations around duality and partnerships (yin/yang, light/dark) Duet explores the magnetic tension that exists between two forces, with a specific focus on the good fortune of ‘ibeyi’ – twins. The presentation is seen to be a celebration of the transformative power of the dynamic duo.
Gallery presentations include those by Pace, Carlye Packer and James Fuentes, and Muholi will be exhibiting alongside various artists, including Marina Abramović, Laurent Grasso, Laila Majid, Yooyun Yang and Allegra Pacheco, among others.
ABOUT ZANELE MUHOLI’S FEATURED WORKS:
Muholi’s lightboxes are both converted photographs from their Being (T)here, Amsterdam series. In line with Muholi's recurrent theme of 'interrogating the gaze', these images document an intervention that they undertook in Amsterdam’s Red Light District during their Thami Mnyele Foundation Residency in 2009. They depict the artist as a sex worker wearing ‘umutsha’ (an isiZulu beaded waistbelt) and a black satin corset, posing in a window. The photographs capture spectators as they approach the red glow that frames a young, feminised Muholi. Although their poses are powerful and alluring, there is a point at which they break away from the voyeur’s gaze and slump back into a seat in their cubicle – not out of leisure, but rather out of exhaustion from this performed exoticism.