From Africa to China: Photographs by Pieter Hugo

Description

Pieter Hugo (b. 1976 Johannesburg) is best known for his frank portraits of his “kin”, mainly the Afrikaners, of South Africa’s post-apartheid era. His portraits of Nigerian gangs wielding chained hyenas in intimidating poses brought international recognition. His rich portfolio has earned him solo museum shows at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, Germany’s Wolfsburg Museum, Paris’ Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, to name but a few.

In his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, Pieter will début works from “Flat Noodle Soup Talk” (2015-2016), his first series shot in Beijing. Eschewing the touristic, he chose instead to record Beijingers in fleeting moments of ordinary intimacy. Choosing average, mainly young people living and working in Beijing, Pieter’s image framing and lighting are oddly reminiscent of classic poses from portrait paintings by Dutch Masters of the Golden Age. There are nudes shot at home, families on sofas, up-close street portraits, smokers, tattoos, blue hair, piercings, strong girls and funny fashions – Pieter aspires to capture the less filtered side of Beijing through ordinary Beijingers themselves.

A sampling of works, from Pieter’s more well-known Africa images, will also be on show.