“In the face of all the challenges our community encounters daily, I embarked on a journey of visual activism to ensure that there is black queer visibility. Faces and Phases is about our histories and the struggles that we face. Faces express the person, and Phases signify the transition from one stage of sexuality or gender expression and experience to another. Faces is also about the face-to-face confrontation between myself as the photographer/activist and the many lesbians, women and transmen I have interacted with from different places.”
—Zanele Muholi
The Faces and Phases series, which commenced in 2006, stands as Zanele Muholi’s visual record of the lives of Black, queer people in post-apartheid South Africa. Powerfully confronting a cultural history of violence and discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community, Muholi’s monochromatic portraits are a testament to the artist’s mission to remedy black queer invisibility. Photographed without any artifice or decoration, the sitters in Faces and Phases look directly at the camera, commanding the viewer to hold their gaze. The bold portraits represent resilience amidst the violence and oppression experienced by numerous Black queer individuals, while celebrating the rich diversity of Black queer life. By dignifying the members of an often marginalized and voiceless community, Faces and Phases promotes self-expression and pride, reclaiming visibility.
