Visual Activism

Visual Activism

Demonstrating the power of self-portraiture, Claude Samuel Zanele at Fotomuseum, Antwerp, brings together three photographers engaging with timely issues surrounding politics, race, gender and identity.

Featured here, Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail The Dark Lioness, by visual activist Zanele Muholi (b. 1972) uses the body as a canvas to address questions of human rights and social justice, often focusing on the LGBTQIA+  community. Similarly, Claude Cahun’s (1894-1954) photographs challenge preconceptions about gender, identity and the subconscious, whilst Samuel Fosso’s (b. 1962) self-portraits reflect on African history through an ever-changing range of personae.

Viewed together, the images weave a visually striking and conceptually poignant narrative – proving photography’s essential function as an agent for change.

The show runs until 10 February. Find out more here.

Credits:
1. Bona, Charlottesville, 2015 © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg and Yancey
Richardson, New York.

2. Zanele Muholi, Ntozakhe II, Parktown, 2016. Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town/ Johannesburg and Yancey Richardson, New York.
3. Somnyama Ngonyama II, Oslo, 2015. © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg and Yancey Richardson, New York.