“Muholi, after all these years, you continue to offer your antidote of visible justice to racialized oppression, visual or otherwise.” These words come from curator and historian Renée Mussai, who is the editor of Zanele Muholi’s (b. 1972) highly anticipated photo book, Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness Volume II. The first part of the self-portrait series captured the world’s attention when it was published in 2018. Now, the visual activist presents a sequel, returning to their seminal body of work as part of a wider, ongoing investigation into reclaiming Blackness. The 2024 edition is updated with 100 new photographs, in addition to essays, letters and poems from the likes of Lola Olufemi, Phoebe Boswell and more.
In one piece, Muholi gazes from foliage dotted with white flowers, looking out beyond the frame. The artist’s head is nestled in the shrubbery, wearing a distant look unusual in a series that revolves around their piercing eye contact. In the accompanying written commentary, Olufemi reads the scene in her own words: she views it as an expression of abundance, freedom and safety, asking: “Is this earth, could it be?”
As we dive deeper into the photo book, we come face to face with a version of Muholi who holds a camera up to us. It’s as though they are waiting for the viewer to pose and follow the confident, unflinching example set throughout this book. Two white towels provide the backdrop, continuing a visual through-line that began in an earlier image, where Muholi wore them wrapped around their body and head.
Self-portraiture is a solo pursuit, and it could be seen as a departure from Muholi’s other collaborative series Brave Beauties and Only Half the Picture. But is a strong sense of community in these pages. It comes not only from the written voices who share their personal responses, but from our engagement with each photograph. This latest iteration of Somnyama Ngonyama is set to become a modern classic.
Aperture, Somnyama Ngonyama Volume II
Words: Diana Bestwish Tetteh
Image Credits:
- Zanele Muholi, Sine IV, 2020; from Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II (Aperture, 2024). © 2024 Zanele Muholi.
- Zanele Muholi, Baveziwe, 2021; from Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II (Aperture, 2024). © 2024 Zanele Muholi.
- Zanele Muholi, Qhakazile, 2019; from Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II (Aperture, 2024). © 2024 Zanele Muholi.
- Zanele Muholi, Qhakazile, 2023; from Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II (Aperture, 2024). © 2024 Zanele Muholi.
- Zanele Muholi, Qhakazile, 2023; from Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II (Aperture, 2024). © 2024 Zanele Muholi.
- Zanele Muholi, Mihla IV, 2020; from Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II (Aperture, 2024). © 2024 Zanele Muholi.
- Zanele Muholi, Sine IV, 2020; from Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II (Aperture, 2024). © 2024 Zanele Muholi.
