Zanele Muholi (South Africa 1972-)
Sasa, Bleecker, New York, 2016

archival pigment ink on Baryta Fibre paper

Artwork date: 2016
Edition: AP IV/VII from an edition of 60 + 7APs
Exchange Rates*: USD 6514.82 – 9772.23
EURO 5920.38 – 8880.57
GBP 4982.35 – 7473.52

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sheet size: 46 x 60 cm; image size: 42 x 56 cm unframed

Provenance:

Private collection, Cape Town.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Photographed in New York in 2016, Sasa, Bleecker is a striking self-portrait from the artist’s ongoing series Somnyama Ngonyama, meaning 'Hail, the Dark Lioness' in isiZulu. The series re-imagines classic portraiture and re-articulates notions of race and representation. Here portrayed in a highly stylised way, Zanele Muholi confronts the viewer with an intense and intimate gaze, staring straight forward from a sharp-lit spotlight. The result is a powerful, yet sensual portrait that confronts issues around body politics.

One of the most acclaimed contemporary and activist photographers today, Muholi’s work continues to garner critical acclaim while reaching international audiences.

COLLECTOR'S NOTE

• Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the artist.

• Examples from the edition form part of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) and the Embassy of Belgium, Pretoria collection.

• Photographs from the Somnyama Ngonyama series are highly sought-after. The highest price achieved at auction for one of these was £35,000 in 2020 for the sale of Zodwa, Paris (2014) in London. In 2022, Aspire Art sold Thuthuka I (2022) for a record-breaking R477,960.

• In 2023 Zanele Muholi was listed at no. 48 on the Art Review Power 100 list of the most influential people in art.

• Recent and current major solo exhibitions include shows at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia (February to July 2025), where Muholi was also an honouree for SCAD deFINE ART 2025; Sawubona at Yancey Richardson, New York, (April to May 2025) and a retrospective at the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto (April to October 2025).

• In 2024, the Tate Modern showed a major survey of the artist’s works; based on Muholi’s 2020/21 Tate exhibition including new works produced since then.

• The Fondation Louis Vuitton exhibited From South Africa: Zanele Muholi and David Goldblatt in 2022 which showcased the two photographers’ work together. That same year, Muholi was an honouree at the International Centre for Photography’s (ICP) 11th Annual Spotlights Benefit in New York.

• Muholi exhibited images from the Somnyama Ngonyama series in May You Live in Interesting Times at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019.

• In 2019, Muholi received the Best Photography Book Award from the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation for Somnyama Ngonyama: Hail, The Dark Lioness. In August 2024, the second volume of Muholi's award-winning self-portrait series, Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II, was released by Aperture.

COLLECTIONS:

The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Cincinnati Art Museum; Fondation Blachère, Apt; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Huis Marseille Museum for Photography, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Museum of Modern Art of Arnhem, Netherlands; National Gallery of Art, Ottawa; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Princeton Museum of Art; Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Tate Modern, London; The Art Institute of Chicago; Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCCA), Cape Town.