Lishonile, BellCourt, Seattle

This photograph is part of Zanele Muholi’s Somnyama Ngonyama series, in which the artist explores issues of race, gender, and identity through performative self-portraits. 

Here, the artist becomes both subject and creator, asserting their Blackness and challenging the stereotyped representations of Black bodies found in photographic archives. Muholi employs a theatrical aesthetic, combining found objects with stylised expressions to engage with the history and lived realities of Black people. By deliberately darkening their skin, the artist both claims and celebrates Blackness while confronting the viewer with their own perception of the Black body.