Pieter Hugo Does Nollywood

Pieter Hugo Does NollywoodLast year I blogged about Pieter Hugo's Nigerian animal wranglers photography series and this year it seems the photographer has not abandoned his obsession with Nigeria. In his new work, Hugo explores the burgeoning Nigerian film industry, Nollywood.

Strangely enough, this series cannot be considered documentary - the photographs are all staged. Hugo gathered a team of 40 Nigerian actors and assistants and then asked them to "recreate the stereotypical myths and symbols that characterize Nollywood productions, reproducing the dynamic of movie sets."

Apparently Hugo attempted to shoot on actual Nollywood film sets, but these shots "failed to produce pictures that fully mirrored the intensity of the situations."

Hugo's tribute to Nollywood will be on display in his next solo exhibition from January 15 through February 21, 2009 at the Michael Stevenson Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa.

PHOTO: Chris Nkulo and Patience Umeh. Enugu, Nigeria, 2008 Copyright Pieter Hugo

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