Hugo Michaux studied photography in his home city of Brussels, Belgium, before dropping out to work as an assistant in fashion and commercial photography. He has assisted such renowned photographers as Mario Testino, Jan Welters, Mark Brothwick and Serge Leblon.
His interests, first rooted in photojournalism, have developed to encompass all facets of the art. He has spent seven years travelling the world for work, developing his own personal projects as he goes. Exposure to different environments have given Michaux a unique vision of the world that is both a taste for the exotic and an eye for the everyday. Or, anything that produces an emotional reaction in the spectator.
These images were taken in 2008 in the centre of Kathmandu, Nepal, in a public space called Ratna Park. A popular place for delivering cultural programs, public hearings and musical concerts, this inner city patch of parched earth has always been a focal point for democratic movements. I was struck by the feeling of desolation and hopelessness there, not to mention the poverty and the dirt, on a Tuesday morning in the midst of Nepal’s never-ending political upheaval that is characterised by constant strikes and a growing Maoist rebel presence.
