In this self-portrait, South African
photographer Zanele Muholi uses light and contrast to exaggerate the darkness
of black skin. Muholi’s bearing and direct gaze suggests an unapologetic pride
in black identity. While the image celebrates the beauty of blackness, this
large-scale, wallpapered print was designed as a political statement. Muholi
noted that the imposing scale, “speaks about occupying public spaces to which
we, as black communities, were previously denied access.”