Jan Hoek, new ways of photographing the New Masai

Dutch artist Jan Hoek engages with the nasty, funny, painful or touching things that happen when photographing people. His work reflects the often tricky ethics involved in the relationship between the photographer and model. Hoek saw the Masai people photographed time and again in the same way: jumping in a natural setting while wearing traditional clothing and jewellery. Nowadays, however, more Masai are living in towns with all the modern conveniences that entails, like mobile phones, cars and trendy sneakers. For this photo series, he gathered seven urban Masai in an attempt to find a new way to photograph them. The resulting portraits are both personal and absurd.