KIN — Pieter Hugo (First Edition), Aperture 2005

KIN is a defining monograph by Pieter Hugo, capturing the intricate fabric of contemporary life across communities and identities, and a cornerstone in Darwin’s collection for anyone drawn to photography that navigates intimacy and expansiveness with equal precision. First published as Hugo’s first major book, KIN brings together the photographer’s early body of work—portraits from Nollywood to The Hyena & Other Men, Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea, and Permanent Error—with a singular eye that foregrounds the dignity and complexity of its subjects without concession to spectacle. What binds these disparate bodies is a rigorous attention to presence: Hugo’s subjects are shown in moments where vulnerability and resilience coexist, framed by stark, unadorned pages that amplify their humanity. The sequencing moves with a quiet tension, allowing each portrait to assert its weight and then recede into a larger meditation on kinship, otherness, and the porous boundaries of self and society. In a first edition that has become increasingly rare, KIN remains essential for readers seeking photographic work that refuses easy answers and instead insists on the enduring power of looking.

Technical Sheet
Title: KIN
Edition: First Edition
Date: 2005 (approx., first publication)
Medium / Materials: Photobook, hardcover
Dimensions (cm): ~30 × 38 (large‑format)
Language: English
Pages: ~180
Publisher / Editor: Aperture / Chris Boot
ISBN: (varies by printing)
Condition: NEW