About Pieter Hugo

Born on Friday 29th October 1976 and is 43 years old, He was born in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Pieter Hugo is a self-taught photographer when he picked up his fathers at the age of 10, on his 12th birthday in 1988 he got given a camera and made him become curious. With the First image that Hugo, printed was homeless men with his work being ‘p’oltical with showing the problems of the world (O’Hagan, 2008).  

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His 1^st projects that Hugo worked on was by attending a political rally to understand what is going on with South Africa with him investigating his own curiosity. One of his first serious undertakings was capturing the aftermath of the riots that followed the 1993 assassination of ANC leader Chris Hani (Montgomery, 2011). Hugo works as a contemporary artist in South Africa whose projects have addressed “issues of class, identity, violence, and privilege (ArtNet, 2019)” This has been done when he has documented people who have been marginalized and downtrodden in parts of Africa. The regions include South-Africa, Rwanda and Nigeria with the subjects being Hyena tamers, albinos and children who survived the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 with it being a project of Portraits of Reconciliation.

Hugo’s, authorship “fuelled by his awareness of vestigial Apartheid—his white privilege providing him with the ability to produce contemporary photography, while prohibiting him from ever accessing the experience of black Africans. (ArtNet, 2019)” This is important to understand that he wants to photograph what he once to advantage of and not having to be part of the negativity surrounding his subjects. He wants all of his photos that he has worked to be made public.

Hugo uses a medium format and large format camera with the use of the chromatic palette has made his photos have a hyper-realistic factor with huge definition, by the use of having a harsh studio lighting.  The way his prints come out it has been described of seeing ourselves as, John Berger has spoken about before, through awkward situations that he has done though we are complicit as a viewer. Like Bruce Gildon, it is about focusing on people’s defects, imperfections with race playing a factor here. When people look at some of his work it sheds our masks in what we see in life. (GLAVIANO, 2013)

Figure 7 The hyena & other men (2007)

The way Pieter Hugo has gone around working the road trip he normally starts with a theme when before he starts is by drawing inspiration from over photographs. Hugo normally photographs his subjects over “over two-week stretches” He shoots over this time period when on the road so “I can keep my eye fresh” as over the time you can lose all meaning with what is going as Hugo learned when working on Rwanda with him being “desensitized and acclimatized” to the problematic situations. In 2009 Hugo, shot Permeant Error this done on over

“two trips of two weeks each” in order for Hugo, to clear his head. In 2008 Hugo, worked on Nollywood and this was shot on 4 trips

All direct quotes and paragraph from (Ruhkamp, 2018, pp. 3,10):

When Hugo was working on Rwanda 1994 he used the road trip with painstaking effort to make sure that he could get to sides of the coin when it comes to nature where it is all beautiful and calm while negative things can happen. The locations were in remote villages of South Africa and Rwanda the locations were hidden from most people apart from the people who understand the locations. This sanctioned the photographers to be raw with having a crystal-clear meaning of the location, where at times “something beautiful and innocent can sometimes come out of something terrible.” (Public Delivery, 2018)

The way that Pieter Hugo went around creating the road trip has allowed his work to stand out and become strong.

Critical Evaluation OF Submitted Shots

Critical Evaluation OF Submitted Shots

The Submitted shots were all taken on Armistice day 2019. These images are depicting the power of the medals and who they are. 

I believe that these shots stand out because of the theme that they all follow with them being to show power and pride. The Images have got the subject the same distance away from the camera allowing the work to show consistency when looking at them so the viewer can get to see them up close. The shots were chosen after listening to the feedback from the critiques. I felt that this justified to everything that they were telling me to produce and submit these shots.

Even though the background does not look the same due to the lighting issues, I do not believe that this subtracts from the work. This is highlighted when some of the shots are featuring the cathedral and other shots are featuring bushes. Even though I was recommended to get the background looking perfect I am pleased that it is slightly of as it is meant to show what the subjects are all about and not what the area is about. 

With all of these images, they are all wearing medals which are important to the end outcome as the viewer will look at the first due to the location of shooting this. The medals are designed to capture the viewer's attention and to show they have all got power and that they are recognised for serving in the war.

With some of these images, they do not have the same lighting, this is because the light is off when it comes to looking at the images due to the way the sun is being shone on the subjects with some of them having a higher saturation than others due to this.  This does not take away the immense pride shown by some of the subjects as they can see they have severed this country and they are rewarded.

Out of the eight images that have been Submitted half of them feature the flag of the regiment in as the ones that have come out perfect were flag bearers, this made be interested and I want to highlight what regiment that they have served in.

The work has been done to be shown a portrait of Kent by the way they are shot and the location. This shows the best of the county of Kent and this is important when reading understanding it all.

How does this submitted Shots link to Pieter Hugo?

The submitted shots link with the way that Pieter Hugo Photographs because I have shown the link between the Hyena Men images and here. This shown by the use of power and pride that I have in the image because of the way that I have shot them. The links are shown by the way that it has been presented with my images having the medal and Pieter Hugo images having the animals this important to show the close links. The other link is with Nollywood with the word power and posing with the way they have been positioned to make them all look similar. My work has been done by Following Pieter Hugo and not directly copying him and this has done it justice.

Idea 3

Idea 3 Contact Sheets

This series was taken on Armistice day 2019 when one of the guys were asked me to document what went on there. This shoot was challenging in different ways, the main challenge that I found in the service is the poor noise reduction on my camera which meant the shots looked terrible. The Work highlights the services that I was at, most of the contact sheets apart from the last page are in order of them being shot in. The work highlight the brave servicemen and women who fought for our country to keep us safe. As without them, we would not be alive today. The Work has been successful with the way I have lit before and afterwards capturing the day in true colour in order to document the real that is happening before us. The Contact sheets do not do all the images justice as they are better when they are printed by a Professional as they stand out even more. The work is designed to denote the ceremony with the meaning of pride for the people who gave the greatest sacrifice to keep us safe. I am pleased with the outcome. This work also features in the book Portrait of Kent Volume 1, for ICP.

How does this idea link to Pieter Hugo?

This work links with Pieter Hugo’s work as it has got a similar theme to the Hyena men because I am to show power in the work. This has been done by showing that we are people of Kent. The Work takes the meaning as the end result have similar backgrounds and they all have got the same theme of power and pride which Hugo had when he did his work. This idea will be done for the end outcome to be submitted with the close links to Hyena men and Hood By air with the same message showing throughout.

Idea 2

Contact Sheets

This idea was recommended to me by Sam These contacts show the same location with different subjects being presented. These contact sheets do not show the edits done. The idea behind here is to get the same background to make sure that the work is consistent. The work shown here highlights the background is the same but off centre by a couple of degrees. The Flaw with this shoot is that I did not stand the subjects further away from the wall to enable me to have no depth of field with it having to be done in Photoshop. The other major flaw with this work is that I did not use a tripod which meant that I did not get an even background which meant it was out of place and it did not flow.

How does this idea link to Pieter Hugo?

This idea was meant to make the work look similar with a set distance away from the camera. Like the images that Pieter Hugo has produced. Unfortunately, the image came back with having a load of depth of field, so I had to edit the images in Photoshop by using select and mask and creating a new layer in order to blur the background. The problem with this was some of the shots came back looking like a ‘Do Not Do Drugs, this what you will see’ type of poster, which meant it did not work. The Link is that the work is similar to Rwanda as they are on similar backgrounds and set a distance away but the work is not even as it is not the same angle of view of the background from each image. I am not planning on taking this idea forward in the future.

Critical Evaluation, of Follow Me

Critical Evaluation, of Follow Me

In my own opinion, this part of Visual Research has been challenging and hard to understand. This put me in a place where I needed to learn more about Pieter Hugo and the way he thinks which made it hard for me to get in the mind of the photographer.

When I first began researching Pieter Hugo the photographer that Sam gave me it was hard to start with as his website did not exist with his work on there until December which meant that I had to go around other ways around it.  Even though I managed to get enough to make this work by using interviews that he has given to the Guardian, Vogue and the NewYorker and Vice. This allowed me to understand the intentions and the way that Pieter Hugo would work and allowed me to look deeper at his work so I can get a basic understanding of a couple of photographic series that he has undertaken.

Once I had done enough research that I thought could lead to a project I decided to ask Pieter Hugo questions, this was done with me asking myself what he says How I could Improve the work and what he recommended me to do. As I came up with ideas with some of this coming from what Sam, had told me. This was hard to understand as on first thinking it made believe that I would need to be drunk or on drugs to get this to work. But as I got into I began to point out what I thought needed to improve. It was a brave concept because you are telling yourself what you need to improve with the guidance from Sam, this helped organise more of me to lead me down the road.

To start with I had an idea that involved me going around Canterbury and Ashford Capturing peoples portraits with people Wearing hats, Graduation gowns and puffer jackets. The idea is to do something like Pieter Hugo did with the Hyena men but make it be like a portrait of Kent showing how we are more similar than we let on.  This idea was strong but it did quite not fit what Sam wanted me to do. As the Backgrounds were inconsistent and he felt that I could get the work looking stronger. I felt that I needed to find an understand and looking at a Quote in the Observer I felt that it stood out.

"My homeland is Africa, but I'm white. I feel African, whatever that means, but if you ask anyone in South Africa if I'm African, they will almost certainly say no. I don't fit into the social topography of my country and that certainly fuelled why I became a photographer." (O'Hagan, 2008)

This made think when getting backgrounds to make sure that the images could come together for this to stand out. The problem with this one was that I did not have a tripod so the images were uneven. So this meant the shots weren't as strong. Sam, recommend me to remove the background by blurring it out but this just made the image look strange and caused to act like someone has taken drugs. I wanted to make sure that my work looked similar to Pieter Hugo and I remembered what he did in the Hynea men with people of Power and I wanted to put that into practice.

Due to the time constraints, I Remembered that I had shot some veterans earlier in November for Armistice day. I changed the idea slightly too similar to what that he had done with the transgender work in the hood by air. With them showing power and courage as I believed the work stood out as it is similar to what Hugo has done. I think if I had more time I could shoot more of them to get the shots to look stronger.  I think the way this has come together stands out.

Overall, I think this project has been challenging and stressful but this has been rewarding in the outcome of the images that I have done. I think I could have gone more in detail about his projects and what he has done and how it links to mine. I am pleased with the end images as they show Who I am as a photographer having being inspired and following Pieter Hugo, this was the benefit for it. The end images are not plagiarizing him as they are done in my own style!

Conversation with Pieter Hugo

Conversation with Pieter Hugo

Nat: Morning, Pieter! I am a first-year student studying photography at Canterbury Christchurch University. My name is Nat Lowden, I am wondering if I can interview you to get some ideas about my current project. That you have inspired me to do.

Pieter: Nat, it would be an honour to do this interview, thank you for asking me.

Nat: I am trying to a photography project inspired by your Hynea & other men series, I am wondering if you had any ideas that could help me?

Pieter: That is a lovely idea when I was working on this series I needed to get close to the subjects to understand what they are all about. By doing this I became experienced in the way they live and work so you should get to understand them.

Nat: I am planning on doing a photo series the portrait of Kent similar that you have done with Nollywood highlighting what is going on in the area that we are not aware of or ignore. I am planning on shooting people wearing hats, military vets and people how are graduating.

Pieter: that sounds like that is going to be a great idea let me know how you get on.

Conversation with Pieter Hugo 2

Nat: sorry about the delay in getting back to you. I have had another busy week getting other projects done. I went down the high street and have got portraits with people wearing hats, puffer jackets. I have got them I am not sure about the theme. With them, not all of them flowing together. I have also shots some veterans at armistice day as well I am not sure how they will work together.

Pieter: I am currently working on the follow up to the Hynea men to see where they are now.

I am sad to hear that it is not following correctly together, I am pleased that you have asked random people. I Recommend that you know to review your idea and maybe try and shoot at a similar location to get it more consistent.

Nat: Thank you I will give it a try and I will let you know what it's like when I get back from shooting this I might go and shoot a series of people at the river where it will look similar.

Pieter: Good Luck, Let me know how you Progress.

Conversation with Pieter Hugo 3

Nat: Hello, How is the follow up to the Hynea men going?

I have followed the recommendation that you gave me about getting the background consitant, I have also edited the images in order to show more interest in the faces of the subjects.  I have attached the files for you to look at them.

Pieter: Thanks, the project is going well and is coming on slowly.

I have seen the photos I do not think that they work as the background is off on all of them and they do not work in harmony as they could do. Can you send me the Veterans images to me again so I can see them understand them even more?

Nat: I have just sent them.

Pieter: They are a lot stronger with them all carrying the same meaning of power. This works well as the composition is all balanced with the emphasis on the subjects. I think lowering the depth of field could work but in my opinion, they work how they are. Next time you do this make sure there is a lower depth of field.

Other than that I love the work and I would love to buy a print when you are all done.

Nat: thank you very much for this critique. I will take it on board for the future. I will let you know when you can buy a print.

Influential Art: End Image

Influential Art: End Image

End Outcome

The end outcome is done to look similar to the painting by keeping the train in the image to make sure they look together to make them stronger. I decided to take the outcome of this being a landscape image and convert this to a portrait image. I have changed the way people will read the image and keep the focus on the subject by making some of the images have a strong negative space. The image is important to show the links to the beginning and the end of mental health journey. As I have mentioned in the statement of intent, “The end images are going to be done with the inspiration of jasper James, with the subject becoming hidden because of the reliance in the phone.” This has been shown by placing the subject in the mobile phone to show the links to mental health. The way I wanted people to be affected by viewing is that it is an advert for Calm because of the use of branding in the work. I have also shown that we are all consumed by looking at our mobile phone so I decided to do it twice with the subject having it in there hand in front of the train and with it bigger with the viewer looking into the mobile phone. The image speaks of mental health with the use of the colour blue can mean feelings of calmness or serenity or it can mean being sad, alone as also known in the music genre the blues (Cherry, 2019).

When comparing the end outcome with the painting I have made sure there are similar themes underlying the work and complete contrast. The similarity between the painting and the outcome is that they both have leading lines going down to the edge of the picture, this shown in the platform and the train in my end image while with Turner he has used the viaduct and the train to draw the viewers attention down the end of the section and back again for greater effect. Both the Painting and the outcome have both got trains in them as this the main effect that I was recommended to bring across in a group criticism, to make sure they look similar, I have used an electric British rail class 375 while turner has a used a steam train to make sure they are not directly copying each other.

The differences is that I have made is that I have turned it into a portrait and made this stand out to the public. While the other difference is that I have used the subject and placed into the mobile phone. Overall I am pleased how the image in the phone links to what I had set out to do.

Influential Art - Idea 1, 2 & 3

Influential Art - Idea 1

This idea has been taken from playing around with the settings to see what will stand out when relating to the subject. The work styled by this helps me to formulate what I can do and the shots come together. This set up allows me to plan for the following ideas in the next setting I am going to keep the subject and change the background

Influential Art - Idea 2 & 3

Idea 2 subject not shown in Front of the Train at Canterbury West

The idea from this is to show how people at times might want to take their own lives from being bullied on social media. The idea behind the train is to highlight is that we are all becoming hidden from society. I have used the same settings that I have used from editing the other to produce this. The strongest shots for me are with the subjects hidden to show how they have all become disconnected from life and how this has removed as from life. The other idea showing how they are not as important to people with mental health. I am going to take the third idea and make the subjects stand out to the viewer at home. I am going to place them with the phone so people can be shown to look out to people in links to mental health. I decided to keep the train in the images because the tutors recommenced me to keep this as it is closely linked with the painting by Turner to make sure that the work has more than the link to the subjects in order to make it stand out. I was also recommended to keep the subject in the image to show that this is a portrait image, not a landscape image.

Idea 3 Subject shown in Front of the Train at Canterbury West

Influential Art - Idea 4 & 5

Influential Art - Idea 4 & 5 

Idea 5, The subject shown on the mobile phone
showing the calm logo.

Idea 4 The subject shown on the mobile phone.

This idea is about interacting with the mobile phone to show the subject Looking at the mobile phone.  The idea behind this idea is to show how we are all consumed by the use of the mobile phone. When looking at the mobile phone it is important to highlight that we are consumed. I have shown in my work is that by removing the rubbish around the phone allows it to stand out.  The main difference between Idea 4 and Idea 5 is the calm logo because of the way it has been done to make clear the link with the use of the mobile phone. I am going to use one of the subjects from idea 5 for the final image outcome. I have taken idea 3 with them being partly shown from the train shots for them all to come together for them to stand out to show the problem that is going on when it comes to the mental health problems we have going on.

Pieter Hugo: X Hood By Air, (2016)

Pieter Hugo: X Hood By Air, (2016)

Artist Statement

For this series – a collaboration with NYC clothing label Hood By Air and stylist Carlos Nazario – I travelled to Jamaica in early 2016 to shoot a series of provocative portraits featuring male porn stars and Gully Queens wearing select pieces from the brand’s archive. A community of gay and transgender youth living in Kingston, Jamaica, the Gully Queens have been violently forced from their homes and left with no other recourse but to seek refuge in a storm drain, or “gully,” beneath the city. Yet, despite such dire circumstances, this underground world is a sanctuary where individuals unwilling to compromise their identity can go to find shelter, the embrace of commonality, and the freedom to live differently.


This has been developed into a capsule collection called “Galvanize Jamaica”. Available to purchase from Hood By Air’s website, the collection features seven oversized tees printed with pictures from the book

Annotations

These project realities to him travailing around Jamaica photographing LGBTQ members to promote a line of clothing.

What is denoted?

The images showing models posing in clothing in Jamaica for the company hood by air.

What is Connoted? & How are you affected as a viewer? !!! 

The work communicates the style of clothing that the brand has on offer. The work has got the symbolism of them not being classed as ‘normal’ due to the sexuality of them all. The first thing that people will look on is the subjects due to them being presented to be the centre of attention. The work is important to understand this about clothing when people do not read into it as if they were to look at it in the newspaper as an advert. The image communicates different environments showing that the clothing can be worn anywhere at any time. The colour has been to show that they are also wanting to blend in with normal people with them being LGBTQ.

What makes this work significant to you (and or your project)?

I like that the work has got different locations where it is being shot at because it makes people understand that they can dress like that at any place. I am planning on taking the idea that he is working in different places but makes sure at every location that the composition does not change.

What are the strengths & weaknesses of what you’re looking at?

The Strengths of this work is that it stands out like saw thumb so people are more likely going to see this work in posters. I think the weakness is that the information about this project is poor and is harder to get an understanding of what the work is all about.

What ideas (or visual styles) will you take forward to think about in your work?

I am planning on taking forward that none of the subjects is shot against consistent backgrounds however they are all posed at the same distance from the camera. I am planning on taking forward the positioning and the message that is showing the way the subjects are all been positioned. The work stands out to be as it is something different than him just working in Africa.

Who is the intended audience?

The Intended audience is for people looking to by the clothing that Pieter Hugo is wanting to promote. The other audience is people are interested in the communities he is shooting to work as a documentary based project for others. This is a clothing advertisement job that Pieter Hugo shot.

What context have you seen the work in?

I have only seen this work on his website and online, this only allows me to see it from a digital preservative and is harder to get the magnetite of the power in the main photographers that he has worked.

Nollywood

Nollywood (2009)

Pieter Hugo Nollywood

Artist Statement (Hugo, 2019)

I became aware of Nigeria’s remarkable film industry while working on The Hyena & Other Men series. Everywhere I travelled, out of the corner of my eye, I would catch people watching these locally made films, in bars, hotel lobbies, anywhere there was a TV. The production values at the time were really poor, especially the sound quality, which may be why the films really irritated me at first. But then, at some point, I became more interested in the industry itself, which is the third-largest in the world after the United States and India. It wasn’t the economics of releasing between 500 and 1 000 movies each year that interested me so much as the cultural issues coded into a cinema made by local producers for local audiences. Here you have a local entertainment industry that enables massive self-representation through popular culture. I don’t want to overstate things: the Nigerian film industry dutifully produces a mix of banal, weird, interesting and occasionally profound films. What intrigued me was the authenticity at play, and, if you think through it some more, how this exercise of authenticity challenges western preconceptions of Africa.

With these big ideas in mind, I started off by photographing on film sets. It was an unproductive avenue. I wasn’t interested in making a documentary project showing the puppet strings – the film cameras, booms, microphones and countless operators behind the scenes. I was more interested in the cinematic ideas and stereotypes that were being fabricated for mass consumption. One evening I met a make-up artist who showed me his portfolio: photographs of actors in make-up. He worked in Enugu, which is much easier to work in than Lagos, and had many connections. We struck a deal whereby he would help me on my portrait series; the collaboration would be a showcase of his skills with make-up and wardrobe as much as mine with a camera.

The portraits were produced over four trips. The individual shots were no formal events on a movie set – I prefer to think of them as theatrical happenings that came together quite informally at times. Of course, I directed the final compositions – they were not spontaneous occurrences as such. I think it is important to recognise that my photographs offer a selective engagement with the ideas and visual culture of Nollywood. I chose not to engage the soap opera genre, which is big in Nigeria and typically set in upper-class houses. I had no interest in that. My taste is more towards the macabre; I loved horror movies as a child. There is still an element of that in the subterranean parts of my mind.

The arc of the project involved imagining a series of portrait subjects, making them up with actors, and then documenting these fictional subjects. In my development as an artist, this project was the first time I really questioned the veracity of the portrait. I became aware of how one can play with portraiture, that it can be much more than just the superficial depiction of a subject. For example, the portrait of the three enslaved women is easy to misread. But, factually, it is a photograph of three paid actors wearing costumes and chains. Working on this series, and later reading responses to it, I became more acutely aware of what the viewer brings to the image, which often exceeds what is depicted.

Annotations

This work is was done when Piter Hugo travelled around Africa and Shot film stars in the African film industry known as Nollywood which is Hollywood for African's.

What is denoted?

The work highlights actors and actress posing for Pieter Hugo,  the actors are from the African Film industry known as Nollywood.

What is Connoted?

The work communicates the emotion of laughter and happiness with them all being positioned to all look different and unique so the work can come together. My interpretation of the work is that he spent time to get to understand what the area is all about and how he can use this to his benefit.

How are you affected as a viewer?

On looking at the work it makes me laugh with the way they are all posed to the camera with the way they all dressed up. I think when looking at the book it makes you smile more when you get an understanding of what they are all about and how they can be worked to the viewer to make them stand out.

What makes this work significant to you (and or your project)?

The work is Significant to my Project Because of the style this all be photographed with it being at a set distance away from the subject. I like the way he has got a medium angle of view so he can use this to make the subject all stand out with them being a set distance away from the camera. I Like the idea of comedy in the work as it makes people laugh and have a smile on there face which I might take forward in the future.

What are the strengths of the source you are looking at? What are the weaknesses of the work? (How would you do things differently? What do you think can be improved?)

The strengths of this body of work are that it communicates what the industry that he is shooting in is all about and it can communicate emotion to the viewer. The weakness is that it was harder to understand what they are about without looking at the captions online. The work works well to promote the African Film industry of Nollywood.

What ideas (or visual styles) will you take forward to think about in your work?

My work is going to be different as I am not planning on taking forward the current work that he has produced because I am not going to Africa. I am going to fake forward the idea of the comedy and how I can have a series portrait and then make them stand out to the viewer.

Who is the intended audience?

The idea of this project is to highlight the idea of the African film industry and the audience is going to be people who want a deeper understanding of what the film industry is like in Africa. The work is contemporary with the way that Pieter Hugo has shot this and include the Nollywood confidential in the book that he has shown how it can look like when the work comes together. 

What context have you seen the work in?

I have only seen this work on his website and online, this only allows me to see it from a digital preservative and is harder to get the magnetite of the power in the main photographers that he has worked. I also have seen this work in the book about the project which gives the work greater understanding and making follow better than looking at the work online. 

Bibliography

Hugo, P., 2019. Nollywood. [Online]
Available at: https://pieterhugo.com/NOLLYWOOD
[Accessed 9 12 2019].

Hyena and Other Men

Hyena and Other Men

Artist Statement

THE HYENA AND OTHER MEN (2005—2007) (Hugo, 2019)

These photographs came about after a friend emailed me an image taken on a cellphone through a car window in Lagos, Nigeria, which depicted a group of men walking down the street with a hyena in chains. A few days later I saw the image reproduced in a South African newspaper with the caption ‘The Streets of Lagos’. Nigerian newspapers reported that these men were bank robbers, bodyguards, drug dealers, debt collectors. Myths surrounded them. The image captivated me.

Through a journalist friend, I eventually tracked down a Nigerian reporter, Adetokunbo Abiola, who said that he knew the ‘Gadawan Kura’ as they are known in Hausa (a rough translation: ‘hyena handlers/guides’).

A few weeks later I was on a plane to Lagos. Abiola met me at the airport and together we took a bus to Benin City where the ‘hyena men’ had agreed to meet us. However, when we got there they had already departed for Abuja.

In Abuja we found them living on the periphery of the city in a shantytown – a group of men, a little girl, three hyenas, four monkeys and a few rock pythons. It turned out that they were a group of itinerant minstrels, performers who used the animals to entertain crowds and sell traditional medicines. The animal handlers were all related to each other and were practising a tradition passed down from generation to generation. I spent eight days travelling with them.

The spectacle caused by this group walking down busy market streets was overwhelming. I tried photographing this but failed, perhaps because I wasn’t interested in their performances. I realised that what I found fascinating was the hybridisation of the urban and the wild, and the paradoxical relationship that the handlers have with their animals – sometimes doting and affectionate, sometimes brutal and cruel. I started looking for situations where these contrasting elements became apparent. I decided to concentrate on portraits. I would go for a walk with one of the performers, often just in the city streets, and, if the opportunity presented itself, take a photograph. We travelled around from city to city, often chartering public mini-buses.

I agreed to travel with the animal wranglers to Kanu in the northern part of the country. One of them set out to negotiate a fare with a taxi driver; everyone else, including myself and the hyenas, monkeys and rock pythons, hid in the bushes. When their companion signalled that he had agreed on a fare, the motley troupe of humans and animals leapt out from behind the bushes and jumped into the vehicle. The taxi driver was completely horrified. I sat upfront with a monkey and the driver. He drove like an absolute maniac. At one stage the monkey was terrified by his driving. It grabbed hold of my leg and stared into my eyes. I could see its fear.

Two years later I decided to go back to Nigeria. The project felt unresolved and I was ready to engage with the group again. I look back at the notebooks I had kept while with them. The words ‘dominance’, ‘codependence’ and ‘submission’ kept appearing. These pictures depict much more than an exotic group of travelling performers in West Africa. The motifs that linger are the fraught relationships we have with ourselves, with animals and with nature.

The second trip was very different. By this stage, there was a stronger personal relationship between myself and the group. We had remained in contact and they were keen to be photographed again. The images from this journey are less formal and more intimate.

The first series of pictures had caused varying reactions from people – inquisitiveness, disbelief and repulsion. People were fascinated by them, just as I had been by that first cellphone photograph. A director of a large security company in the USA contacted me, asking how to get in touch with the ‘hyena group’. He saw marketing potential: surely these men must use some type of herb to protect themselves against hyenas, baboons, dogs and snakes? He thought that security guards, soldiers and his own pocket could benefit from this medicine.

Many animal-rights groups also contacted me, wanting to intervene (however, the keepers have permits from the Nigerian government). When I asked Nigerians, ‘How do you feel about the way they treat animals?’, the question confused people. Their responses always involved issues of economic survival. Seldom did anyone express strong concern for the well-being of the creatures. Europeans invariably only ask about the welfare of the animals but this question misses the point. Instead, perhaps, we could ask why these performers need to catch wild animals to make a living. Or why they are economically marginalised. Or why Nigeria, the world’s sixth-largest exporter of oil, is in such a state of disarray.

Annotations

The work is from the series Hyena and other men, where Pieter Hugo Would travel around Africa looking for the performance artists.

What is denoted?

The series depicts men plating and being violent towards the Hyena’s, the work also shows monkeys as a permanence artist.

What is Connoted?

The work communicates the message of power with the way that they are all posing to make sure that the work stands out and links together when they are all posed. I think the way he has made them work together stands out to shock the viewer so it can show the message of dominance and make people think that they are debt collectors.

How are you affected as a viewer?

When looking at the work the viewer is drawn in my the way he has framed the animals to perform to the subjects and makes them stand out when it comes to power. The other way people will be affected is being annoyed by the way the animals are being treated with such force to the viewer and can be a problem, the power with all this works well to make the viewer understand what the life can be and how it looks like.

What makes this work significant to you (and or your project)?

I like the way he has used different backgrounds and locations to show that they are in more than one location, this will play into my end work as it shows that it looking the same will make the work look boring and makes it not work together and so this is not strong. I also adore the way that Hugo, has used different angles so that way it makes sure they stand out. I like the different composition angles with them not al, being the centre of the shot with some of them being on the right while some being on the left and some in the centre.

What are the strengths of the source you are looking at? What are the weaknesses of the work? (How would you do things differently? What do you think can be improved?)

The strengths of this work are that they all tell the story of power to show what the work is about and who they are all. I think a major strength is allowing them to pose naturally allowing the shots to look more organic and have more meaning when reading into the work. A weakness I think is that the work lacks empathy and this means that it is a one-sided story. This weakness can just be overcome by asking locals all about the Hyena and other men. This is my favourite project that Pieter Hugo has undertaken.

What ideas (or visual styles) will you take forward to think about in your work?

My work is not going to feature animals as I want my project to look slightly different. I am planning on making sure that the backgrounds aren’t all consistent as this will not be similar to this body of work. The other idea is that I am going to take forward is the notion of different angles and positioning to make sure that the portraits tell the story. This is the key work that I am in love with and I am going to try to do this justice and linking it together to make it a portrait of Kent.

Who is the intended audience?

The indented audience was to show people in Nigeria that the subjects are normal and that they are just actors. I think the work has been done with a contemporary theme to the work as this is not something most people have recreated before. I think this has also worked to build on his work on Nollywood.

What context have you seen the work in?

I have only seen this work on his website and online, this only allows me to see it from a digital preservative and is harder to get the magnetite of the power in the main photographers that he has worked.

Bibliography

Hugo, P., 2019. Hyena and Other Men. [Online]
Available at: https://pieterhugo.com/THE-HYENA-AND-OTHER-MEN
[Accessed 9 12 2019].