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C o u r t e s y person should be classified, a pencil would be pushed into their hair. If the pencil fell out, signalling that their hair was straight (white) rather than curly (black), the person “passed” and was “classified” as white. However, there are other portraits which are much more pared back and don’t feature objects or additional material. I find these images the most haunting. One of my favourite Somnyama images is called Mfana, London 2014. It's a tightly cropped portrait of Muholi staring at the camera straight on. For me personally, it is so raw and honest, as if they have broken through all the white noise of other people’s representation and projections. A: Muholi has noted that their self-portraits pay tribute to family members, LGBTQIA+ communities and many more. To what extent do the images act as “dedications”? SA: The images you refer to, in which Muholi uses pegs and sponges, are dedicated to their mother Bester Muholi, who was a domestic worker for the same middle-class white family for over 40 years. Another image, which is a dedication of sorts, was made in memory of the South African activist Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo. Jacob Zumba was charged with the rape of Kuzwayo in 2005, but was acquitted in 2006. Zumba went on to become president of South Africa in 2009 until his resignation in 2018. Kuzwayo died in 2016 and Muholi made a self-portrait soon after to mark her passing. Though some images act as dedications, Muholi has spoken about how the series can be understood as an attempt to use the body as a canvas to “bring forth political statements.” A: Exhibitions like this have never been more important, dedicating major public institutions to the display and celebration of black bodies. How does this exhibition sit within Tate’s response to Black Lives Matter and to diverse cultural programming for the future? SA: Whilst this show has been many years in the planning, it of course holds an even greater resonance in this current moment. I hope it will be a catalyst for more conversations about important issues – not only about race but the LGBTQIA+ community. We’re hugely committed to not only continuing to broaden representation in our programme and collection but also our workforce. Over this year, we’ve held Steve McQueen’s Year 3 series at Tate Britain and solo exhibition at Tate Modern, as well as Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus in the Turbine Hall. We're also looking forward to Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s exhibition at Tate Britain this autumn. This is just a snapshot of some of the work we’re doing. Tate has an influential platform and it’s important we use it to speak out about racial inequality. Our wider aim is to become truly inclusive with a workforce and audience as diverse as the communities we serve. Muholi has often spoken about how they would like to “turn museums into spaces where we can carve out a new dialogue that favours us.” We are working hard to make sure this show achieves that goal.
A: What kind of resources are Tate looking into for educating staff and attendees about the exhibition? SA: We want our staff and visitors to have the tools they need to explore the exhibition and its themes. We are looking at doing this in a number of different ways – including commissioning a glossary that deals with terms that are pertinent to Muholi’s practice – and we plan to make contact details for key organisations available in the gallery.
Right: Qiniso, The Sailes, Durban 2019. Courtesy of the Artist and Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg and Yancey Richardson, New York. ©Zanele Muholi.
Words Kate Simpson
Zanele Muholi 's new exhibition dates run 5 November - March 2021, Tate Modern, London tate.org.uk
28 Aesthetica
