Published by Aperture in 2018, “Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness” is a powerful visual manifesto by South African artist Zanele Muholi. In this series of more than ninety self-portraits, Muholi moves from the role of documentarian to subject, using their own body to confront the complex histories of racism, labor, and sexual politics. By exaggerating the darkness of their skin tone and utilizing everyday materials as sculptural props, Muholi creates a series of archetypal personas that challenge the colonial gaze and Eurocentric beauty standards. The volume features contributions from twenty-four international writers and curators, offering a multi-layered analysis of one of the most significant bodies of work in contemporary photography.
