Sanne de Wilde and Bénédicte Kurzen

About this book

Land of Ibeji is the joint work of two photographers. Bénédicte Kurzen and Sanne De Wilde took first prize in the World Press Photo Contest Portrait category with this project. In the book they explore the myth of twinhood in Ibeji, Nigeria. For the Yoruba people, 'double birth' and 'the inseparable two' represent the ultimate harmony between two people. Four times more twins are born in West Africa than in the rest of the world. The centre of this 'twin zone' is Igbo-Ora, a sleepy town in south-west Nigeria. Using a subtle visual narrative approach, the two photographers broaden their view by using symmetry and likeness to represent twins as mythological figures and as a powerful metaphor for the duality within each of us and the duality we experience in the world around us. To further bring out the magical and supernatural invisible aspect, the two photographers use two-colour filters for certain images. This amplifies the duality of two photographers, two individuals, and two identities. It reveals two differently coloured perceptions. Twins are the object of great fascination around the world. Although many stories and myths about twinhood have faded away or been forgotten, the theme appears in Biblical and other stories, in philosophical texts and even in science. Examples include the Gemini constellation with the stars Castor and Pollux, Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, or Plato, who believed in the duality of human nature.