Human Playground

Why do we play games? That is the question Belgian photographer Hannelore Vandenbussche decided to explore, travelling to numerous countries to roam the world of sports, passion, athletic competition, transition, and emancipation. The athletes she portrays keep old traditions alive or carve out new territory, perform rituals, and celebrate with boisterous parties centred around their games.

Meet Buzkashi players astride their horses in Afghanistan, Donga stick fighters in Ethiopia, rugby players in the UK, wrestlers in Bolivia, and many other athletes in these unusual sports. These unique photographs capture athletes from both indigenous cultures in remote parts of the globe and from familiar, Western cultures. They poignantly convey how old traditions are kept alive and new ones are carved out, how rites of passage, ritual, and celebration are all part of the culture of play.

Organised thematically in six sections, this book showcases a hugely diverse range of sports from places as far-flung as Mongolia and Madagascar, from jockeys in Dubai to land divers in Vanuatu. This extraordinary book of photographs is dedicated to a subject that is being presented in an entirely new way.

Text in English, German and Dutch.