Cokkie Snoei is very proud to present the work of the South African photographer Pieter Hugo (Johannesburg, 1976). The exhibition contains works from two of his internationally acclaimed series of photographs.

They include several portraits of African people with albinism from the series Looking Aside (2003). This congenital pigmentation disorder often leads to expulsion and discrimination. In his intimate portraits Hugo emphasises the individuality of those portrayed. The works reflect upon our reactions to physical difference and provoke discussions about the meaning of ‘black' and ‘white'. Pieter Hugo believes that people project their desires, fears, fantasies and repulsions onto people with albinism.

The series The Hyena & Other Men (2005/2007) comprises portraits of a group of entertainers from Nigeria who tour the country with three hyenas, four baboons and two pythons. Pieter Hugo has also chosen an intimate approach for this series and has portrayed the men and the girl in a sober way. These monumental portraits record the complex and paradoxical relationship between the trainers and their animals. The tension between domination and submission, nature and culture, and tradition and modernity is made visible in an almost silent manner, emphasised by the photographs' soft tones.

The exhibition will be officially opened by Nicolaus Schafhausen in the presence of Pieter Hugo.

Cokkie Snoei is very proud to present the work of the South African photographer Pieter Hugo (Johannesburg, 1976). The exhibition contains works from two of his internationally acclaimed series of photographs.
They include several portraits of African people with albinism from the series Looking Aside (2003/2005). This congenital pigmentation disorder often leads to expulsion and discrimination. In his intimate portraits Hugo emphasises the individuality of those portrayed. The works reflect upon our reactions to physical difference and provoke discussions about the meaning of ‘black' and ‘white'. Pieter Hugo believes that people project their desires, fears, fantasies and repulsions onto people with albinism.
The series The Hyena & Other Men (2005/2007) comprises portraits of a group of entertainers from Nigeria who tour the country with three hyenas, four baboons and two pythons. Pieter Hugo has also chosen an intimate approach for this series and has portrayed the men and the girl in a sober way. These monumental portraits record the complex and paradoxical relationship between the trainers and their animals. The tension between domination and submission, nature and culture, and tradition and modernity is made visible in an almost silent manner, emphasised by the photographs' soft tones.

Cokkie Snoei is er bijzonder trots op het werk van de Zuid-Afrikaanse fotograaf Pieter Hugo (Johannesburg, Zuid-Afrika,1976) te kunnen laten zien.
Van de drie internationaal vermaarde series die Hugo tot nu toe heeft gemaakt, zullen er werken uit twee verschillende series te zien zijn.
Uit de serie Looking Aside (2003/2005) wordt een aantal frontale portretten getoond van Afrikaanse albino's. Deze erfelijke afwijking leidt vaak tot uitstoting en discriminatie. In Hugo's intieme portretten wordt de individualiteit van de gefotografeerde sterk benadrukt. Behalve reacties op lichamelijke verschillen en de betekenis daarvan, lokken de portretten discussies uit over de betekenis van ‘zwart' en ‘wit'. Pieter Hugo gelooft dat mensen hun verlangens, angsten, fantasieën en weerzin projecteren op mensen met albinisme.
The Hyena & Other Men (2005/2007) toont portretten van een groep ‘entertainers' uit Nigeria, die het land rondreizen met drie hyena's, vier bavianen en twee pythons. Pieter Hugo koos ook in deze serie voor een intieme benadering en portretteerde de mannen en een meisje steeds op een sobere manier.
In monumentale portretten wordt de complexe en paradoxale relatie tussen de ‘dresseurs' en hun beesten vast gelegd. Het spanningsveld tussen dominantie versus onderwerping, natuur versus cultuur en traditie versus moderniteit wordt zichtbaar gemaakt op een haast verstilde manier, die nog extra wordt benadrukt door de ingehouden tonen die Hugo heeft gebruikt.