The Common Press is thrilled to host Zanele Muholi's photography book ‘Somnyama Ngonyama Hail the Dark Lioness, Volume II’ on Friday 11th October from 7 pm - 10 pm. This powerful collection is the continuation of Zanele Muholi’s celebrated self-portrait series. Muholi delves deeper into the exploration of Blackness identity, and the multiplicity of the self, using photography as a bold response to contemporary and historical racism. This stunning collection features striking imagery from international locations and is accompanied by contributions from renowned curators, poets, and authors, this volume, curated by Renée Mussai, expands the boundaries of visual activism.
Join Zanele Muholi and Renée Mussai, for a relaxed evening of profound and radical celebration of Black existence and resistance. It's a great opportunity to network and learn more about the photography book and future projects.
The book will be available for signing and for sale on the day. Tickets and profits from the event will be going towards supporting The Common Press Crowdfunding Campaign.
Zanele Muholi's current exhibition is at the Tate Modern until January 2025.
My practice as a visual activist looks at Black resistance—existence as well as insistence. —Zanele Muholi
This latest iteration of Somnyama Ngonyama is set to become a modern classic.—Aesthetica
About Zanele Muholi (They / Them)
Zanele Muholi (born 19 July 1972) is a South African artist and visual activist working in photography, video, and installation. Muholi's work focuses on race, gender and sexuality with a body of work that dates back to the early 2000s, documenting and celebrating the lives of South Africa's Black lesbian, gay, transgender, and intersex communities. Muholi is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, explaining that "I'm just human".
Muholi was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize in 2015. They received an Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography in 2016, a Chevalier de Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2016, and an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2018.
Muholi had a retrospective exhibition on at Maison européenne de la photographie in Paris from 1 February to 25 May 2023. Their work was also shown that year at Mudec-Museo delle Culture in Milan, from 31 March through 30 July 2023, showcasing 60 self-portraits in black and white chosen especially for Mudec.
About Renée Mussai (she / her)
Renée Mussai is a London-based independent curator, writer and scholar with a special interest in Black feminist and queer visual arts practices. Formerly Senior Curator at Autograph, her award-winning books include the artist monographs Lina Iris Viktor—Some Are Born to Endless Night (Autograph, 2020) and Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama: Hail, the Dark Lioness (Aperture, 2018 / 2024); and the forthcoming volumes Eyes That Commit—A Visual Gathering (Prestel, 2025) and Black Chronicles—Photography, Race and Difference in Victorian Britain (Thames & Hudson / Autograph, 2025). She has curated more than thirty solo and group exhibitions during the past two decades, and lectures internationally on visual activism and curatorial care. In 2023 Mussai was co-curator for R/evolutions, the 14th edition of Photo Ireland, and Artistic Director of The Walther Collection. She is currently Senior Research Associate at VIAD, University of Johannesburg, and Associate Lecturer at University of the Arts London, as well as guest Curator at The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, USA.
Event information
- Doors open at 7 pm
- Speeches and discussion from 7:30 pm
- Network and mingle until 10 pm.
**Please note our wheelchair-accessible toilet isn't available due to some renovations.