Sometimes, however, what starts with a cool cellphone picture sent from a friend becomes an amazing, thought-provoking piece of photojournalism that probes the relationships between humans at the wild, humans and animals, and humans and each other. And I’m rarely stopped dead in my tracks when a photo crosses my field of view – but I was with these photos, with this body of work.
Pieter Hugo’s The Hyena and Other Men is a series of incredible photos, taken over two trips in as many years at the edges of a shantytown in Nigeria. Hugo worked with Nigerian reported Adetokunbo Abiola to not only find the men to photograph, but to get to know them and earn their trust.
The arresting images–which show men (and, occasionally, children) with hyenas, monkeys, and other wild animals which have been tamed for entertainment purposes–are an exploration of one tiny population’s life…a life that’s pretty different from yours or mine. Horrible or wonderful? That’s for you to decide. Scroll through some of the image tabs above this photo… Completely remarkable.
Here’s an excerpt from Hugo’s explanation of the project:
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.
Head over to Hugo’s site to see the rest and read his description of the artistic process. It’s a good read.
Hat-tip to my buddy Jon Coe for bringing this evocative project to my attention.
Love your site Chase, but for a photo site, the image-carousel has become unnecessarily awkward to use after the last site upgrade! Otherwise, this story was stunning in its familiar appearance yet amazing context!
Wow, very well captured. Not an easy job to do, trust me but needs good attention to detail.
Great images to tell a story. I’m totally in tune with Pieter comment; same old story of exploitation (1st world vs 3rld world/ human vs wild animals).
Thanks for sharing.
Really glad you have discovered this series of pics. They are simply stunning, I have been banging on about them ever since I came across them a few years ago. Now you have blogged about them they will reach a much wider audience, which they so deserve.
Not only is the subject matter extra ordinary (if you google Pieter, there are some amazing stories about the journey of getting the pics.). The pictures challenge and scream at all preconceptions of our interaction with wild animals. They are in short a striking graphic illustration of the craziness of what can happen in that great continent Africa and also the world, which we as western nations are so far removed from.
Nice Chase for getting them out there.
Cheers
Ian
I saw these pictures last year in November at Paris Photo and my first thought was “PhotoShop” but they are so real up close in a big print. I had no idea Hyenas were so big!