Mallam Galadima Ahamadu with Jamis, Nigeria from The Hyena and Other Men

A striking and intimate portrait by South African photographer Pieter Hugo, this image captures Mallam Galadima Ahamadu alongside his hyena, Jamis, in a raw and commanding composition that blurs the line between the wild and the human. Part of Hugo's acclaimed series documenting a group of Nigerian street performers who train and live alongside hyenas, baboons, and pythons, the photograph challenges Western perceptions of danger, domesticity, and the exotic. The rich, vivid tones of the digital chromogenic print heighten the visceral tension and quiet tenderness between man and beast.