Looking Aside — Pieter Hugo, 2006

A quiet landmark in early 21st-century African photography, Looking Aside collects Pieter Hugo’s studio portraits taken between 2003 and 2006 in South Africa—stark, formal, and confrontational images of people society is trained not to look at. His subjects include the blind, the aged, people with albinism, and members of his own family, all photographed with a directness that renders pity impossible and attention urgent. The title is literal and metaphorical: to “look aside” is both an act of evasion and a political stance. Hugo insists we do neither.

The cover, a ghost-pale child with albinism staring squarely at the viewer, acts as both gatekeeper and thesis. There is no refuge in abstraction here; the portraits are hyper-specific, high-resolution, and full of visual tension. Published by Punctum Editions in 2006 and designed by Damien Poulain, this early book already signals Hugo’s signature method: clinical lighting, ethical discomfort, and a forensic attention to surface. A precursor to his later works such as The Hyena and Other Men, this volume remains one of the most psychologically dense and socially charged photobooks of its time.

Technical Sheet
Title: Looking Aside
Artist / Author: Pieter Hugo
Date: 2006
Technique / Printing Method: Offset
Medium / Materials: Hardcover with photographic plate
Dimensions (cm): Approx. 21 × 28 (estimated)
Language: English
Pages: 92
Publisher / Editor: Punctum Editions
ISBN: 978-88-89412-20-8
Condition: Fine