by Zanele Muholi 

This paper is both a textual and a visual analysis of the making/mapping/preserving of radical black lesbian visual history in post-Apartheid South Africa. Using my own works of photography, I explore how visual activism can be employed by socially, culturally and economically marginalized women as a site of resistance to not only return the gaze of our colonizers, but to develop what bell hooks has called a ‘critical gaze’ into heteropatriarchal constructions of black women‘s bodies and their sexualities.  With thematic projects evoked by women‘s own experiences, I partly address the epidemic of hate crimes that has escalated in the past few years, claiming many black lesbian lives in the townships. I argue that queerphobia and hate crimes have further silenced and sanctioned our voices. I reflect on such issues through my previous works entitled Only Half the Picture (2003-2005) and ongoing visual explorations like the Being series (2007), Faces & Phases (2007) and Massa & Mina(h) (2008). I also explore how I have moved from being a lesbian and human rights activist to becoming a visual activist and artist, tracing how my work has developed. Much of this is about reflecting on my work over the past 6 years, and taking stock of the many complexities of being both an insider and an outsider.

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