Land of Ibeji

Here, seeing double is normal. And that is not only because we are dealing with two photographers and their art projects. Sanne de Wilde and Bénédicte Kurzen traveled to Yoruba country in Nigeria, where the rate of twin births is ten times higher than elsewhere-a fact that is either celebrated with mythical fervor or condemned. While tracing this history, the photographers created richly intriguing, intensely colorful portraits of twins. They used their game of doubling to stage an imaginative photographic story, making use of double apertures, double exposures, reflections, and color filters. With these inventive pictorial processes, the two artists produce magical double portraits. Page after page, this catalogue captures the vibrant, expressive force of this prize-winning series.

SANNE DE WILDE ( 1987, Belgium) studied at the KASK in Ghent. Her photographic work has been honored with prizes such as the Photo Academy Award and the 16th Prix National Photographie Ouverte. She lives in Antwerp. BÉNÉDICTE KURZEN ( 1980, Lyon) studied history and semiotics at the Sorbonne in Paris. The theme of war reporting brought her to photography. Her works have been printed in prominent international newspapers and magazines. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria.