The Hyena and Other Men

Pieter Hugo

Mallam Galadima Ahmadu with Jamis, Nigeria
C-Print
2005

Pieter Hugo created the series The Hyena Men while traveling in Nigeria with a troupe of animal charmers and their collection of tenuously domesticated hyenas, monkeys and snakes. The portraits feature groupings of men and animals surrounded by the barren urban centers of northern Nigeria. Taken during quiet moments between the spectacles of street performances, the photographs depict a stillness that subverts the tense physicality of the animals and their trainers.

Excerpt from the Yossi Milo Gallery Press Release November 2007