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Zanele Muholi’s 'Faces and Phases UK' opens at QUEERCIRCLE, London
14 Oct 2025 (2 min) read
“I’m reclaiming my Blackness, which I feel is continuously performed by the privileged ‘other’. My reality is that I do not mimic being black; it is my skin, and the experience of being black is deeply entrenched in me. Just like our ancestors, we live as Black people 365 days a year, and we should speak without fear.” - ZANELE MUHOLI
QUEERCIRCLE, in collaboration with The Common Press and the Muholi Art Institute, is proud to present Faces and Phases UK by internationally acclaimed South African photographer and visual activist Zanele Muholi, opening on 14 October 2025.
Opening during Black History Month, the exhibition marks the first solo presentation of the complete UK iteration of Muholi’s radical and ongoing archive, Faces and Phases. Initiated by Muholi in 2006, the archive documents and honours the lives of Black Queer and trans communities worldwide through powerful portraiture. In Faces and Phases, subjects confront viewers with direct gazes, forming a powerful archive of authenticity and resistance.
Nearly two decades on, Faces and Phases UK offers a timely moment to celebrate and reflect on Black Queer and trans life, resilience and creativity. Faces and Phases UK launched in 2024 in collaboration with curator/Director at The Common Press, Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir, to help shape and highlight the experiences of the UK Black Queer community.
In Britain today, trans lives are increasingly targeted by state policies and hostile rhetoric, and against a backdrop of racist, anti-immigration protests across the UK, Faces and Phases becomes a site of resistance, held and shaped through community collaboration.
Those who visit the exhibition, consisting of 100 portraits accompanied by video recordings from those photographed, are encouraged to take part in the spirit of collective remembrance and resistance by writing on the walls, thereby sharing testimonies for those who may be absent and seizing the opportunity to voice their own truths and experiences. There is also a curated selection of books available for reading from The Common Press, London’s intersectional Queer bookshop café.
Aligning with Muholi's passion and commitment to education, a free public programme will run concurrently with the exhibition at QUEERCIRCLE, spanning talks, workshops, study groups and performances. "Together, we’re building space for learning, exchange and solidarity", says Muholi.
Faces and Phases UK runs until 16 November 2025 and follows Faces and Phases 19, Muholi's recent solo exhibition held at Southern Guild Los Angeles, documenting people from London, Los Angeles, São Paulo, Porto and Salvador.
All images courtesy of Vernon Pienaar & Lufuno Ramadwa for the Muholi Art Institute (2025).
ABOUT QUEERCIRCLE
QUEERCIRCLE is an LGBTQ+ led charity that works at the intersection of arts, culture, health and social action. It provides a dedicated space for LGBTQ+ art and culture, supports LGBTQ+ artists through exhibitions and residencies, and runs public programmes that connect arts with health and well-being. Its activities include workshops, conversations and creative projects aimed at strengthening the LGBTQ+ community, promoting joy and fostering social change.