Leigh Callaway - Pieter Hugo 3

               Pieter Hugo (born 1976 in Johannesburg) is a photographic artist living in Cape Town. He caught my attention when I viewed his work in the "Face : The New Photographic Portrait"  In his series of the conditions of albinism. He has this very in your face way of presenting the subjects to us. Observing how an identity defined only by physical difference can affect social position and hugely impact their day to day life.  The viewers are faced with up close and personal studio portraits, and must confront the subjects head- on. He in the sense giving them back what they are often denied- their humanity. And because of that stand point that he takes, it allows you to respect the subject that much more. I have always found beauty in what most find strange are "ugly". Hugo takes the flaws of people and gives them their strength and in that you can find so much beauty in the way that he handles he subject. The personal extreme view point he choses allows you to get intimate with the each subject you view. I like the extreme factor he seems to grasp with he use of studio lighting and editing. His documentary style is very real and personal, and this is something that I respect in photography, when the work can let me see the world in a different light. Weather it is studio or documentary, it allows me to see what you see. 

http://www.pieterhugo.com/