The extraordinary and the everyday jostle for attention in the South African photographer’s examination of Mexican culture Pieter Hugo’s new series, La Cucaracha (The Cockroach), named after a traditional song made popular during the Mexican revolution, grew out of a visit to the country in 2018. He was invited there by a curator whose stipulation was that he make work on the theme of sex and mortality. “Mexico’s anarchic, visceral energy got under my skin and sucked me in,” he recalls. “There is an acceptance that life has no glorious victory, no happy ending. Humour, ritual, a strong sense of community and an embrace of the inevitable make it possible to live with tragic and often unacceptable situations.” Continue reading...