Zanele Muholi and Jenna Wortham spend a day in each others company, talking about Zanele’s past and what self-portraiture means to Zanele after years of activism.
‘‘The whole thing of turning the camera to yourself — it’s really not easy,’’ she says. ‘‘Because you want to tell the truth, but at the same time you have reservations for confronting the self, dealing with you.’
‘‘When I was young, I was told that I was ugly, and I had to grow up with a sense of ugliness and shame,’’ she says. ‘‘And I had to overcome it, because nobody can love you more than you.’’ She titled the series ‘‘Somnyama Ngonyama,’’ which means ‘‘Hail the Dark Lioness.’’
