Notes

Photo credit: Keren Manor, courtesy Stevenson Cape Town and Johannesburg

The artist and visual activist Zanele Muholi is famous for her photographic explorations of black female sexuality and LGBTI bodies in South Africa. She has won multiple international accolades (most recently, a Prince Claus Award in 2013) and her works are featured in major international museums and biennales (amongst many others, the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 55th Venice Biennale and Documenta (13)).

The photograph is one of an ongoing series that forms part of Muholi’s body of work Mo(u)rning. It is part of a set of ten images that was shot in Salzburg in 2013. The artist ran naked for 20 minutes in the Austrian snow, re-enacting the cold, isolated moments before death when a victim attempts to flee from her murderer. Her cry for help is never heard and she dies alone in excruciating fear. This piece references the experiences of the many deceased victims of hate crimes in South African townships.

This work poignantly reminds us that, even though the South African Constitution is in place to protect people of all backgrounds, violence and discrimination continue.

Provenance

Donated by the artist