Fourth printing of The Hyena and Other Men by Pieter Hugo (2008)
Large format hardback in near fine condition, there is a soft bump to bottom corner of baords and some minor wear to dust jacket, now in a removable protective sleeve
Pages clean, binding firm
About The Hyena and Other Men
So many myths surround the “Hyena Men” who haunt the peripheries of Nigeria’s cities. Accompanied by hyenas, rock pythons and also baboons, these men earn a living by performing before crowds and selling traditional medicines. Pieter Hugo’s extraordinary portraits of their liminal existence then reveal an uncanny world of complex, codependent relationships. Where familiar distinctions between dominance and submission, wildness and domesticity, as well as tradition and modernity are constantly subverted. Nigerian journalist Adetokunbo Abiola introduces readers to the “Hyena Men,” explaining the traditions and mystique behind their practices. “Nigerian newspapers told him that these men were bank robbers, bodyguards, drug dealers, debt collectors. Myths surrounded them. Then, it turned out that they were a group of itinerant minstrels, performers who used the animals to entertain crowds and sell traditional medicines. Pieter then realised that what he 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. When looking back at the notebooks he 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 also with nature.” – Caroline Kurze, IGNANT Presented in thirty five full color plates, these intense portraits reveal why Hugo is one of the most exciting young photographers at work today.
