Ntozakhe II, (Parktown)

2016

Zanele Muholi

Associated Names
Zanele Muholi

Artist, South African, born 1972

This photograph shows a person with their body turned slightly to the left and their head turned over their shoulder to the right towards us, looking upwards. The person's skin is deep black, with light reflecting off of their nose, cheekbones, closed lips, and their partially exposed chest. The person's expression is neutral. The whites of their eyes are a stark contrast to the rest of the colors in the photograph, and they draw the attention of the viewer. The person wears a black garment with a deep neckline that also reflects the light, similar to silk or satin. A layered headband that appears to be made of a similar material covers the crown of their head. Emerging from behind this headband and framing the person's face are several large black shapes, similar to the petals of a flower, made of a tightly coiled material. This could be the person's hair, styled elaborately, or perhaps a decorative headdress. The background is light gray.
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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G23


Artwork overview

  • Medium

    photographic wall mural from digital file

  • Credit Line

    Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund

  • Dimensions

    dimensions variable

  • Accession Number

    2021.88.1

  • Series Title

    Somnyama Ngonyama

  • Copyright

    © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of the artist, Yancey Richardson, New York, and Stevenson Cape Town/Johannesburg

More About this Artwork

In this black and white photograph, a woman wearing a black dress leans toward an arched mirror set into a wall, so we see the woman twice in this double portrait. We are situated slightly below her so we look up at the woman, who gazes down and to our right. The surface of the wall is smooth but lightly textured, like adobe. Trees reflected in the mirror indicate that this is outdoors. The woman in front of us takes up the left half of the composition. She faces our right in profile and leans to our right, at the far edge of the mirror. Her dark hair is pulled up in ribbon entwined braids. She wears long, chandelier style earrings and her high-necked black dress has puffed, lace sleeves. We see her face straight on in the mirror’s reflection. The woman’s distinctive brows knit together over her rounded nose.

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Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Zanele Muholi, Cape Town; NGA purchase (through Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York), 2021.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2022

  • Afro-Atlantic Histories, National Gallery of Art, Washington; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, 2022 - 2024, unnumbered catalogue.

Inscriptions

signed by artist on certificate of authenticity, in black ink: ZM


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