We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannelore Vandenbussche a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hannelore, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I embarked on my first project in 2009 after finishing my degree in photography. When I traveled the world for the ‘Before They Pass Away’ project, I was intrigued by the games indigenous people play. These games were nothing like the sports we are familiar with like soccer, but rather unknown games like the Ethiopian Donga Stick fights. I decided I wanted to find out more, especially about why people engage in these games. During my research, I discovered more interesting stories about various fascinating sports worldwide and came to the conclusion that there was little to no documentation about all the different motivations why people play. That’s when the idea for the ‘Human Playground’ project was born.

I decided I wanted to create a photo book on this intriguing topic and started traveling in 2017. I went to Mongolia, Mexico and India to capture authentic yet unique sports and with this portfolio, I convinced my investors to back the project. Along the way, I realized that I wanted the people that I photographed to tell their own unique stories in the form of a documentary series. After a while, I found a producer that believed in my vision for Human Playground and together we convinced Idris Elba and Netflix to get on board.

While I traveled a lot in my career and had the privilege to experience many cultural traditions, I never really discovered the true power of sports. Working on this project made me realize that playing is about traditions, rituals, rights of passage, pushing boundaries, earning money, discipline, breaking pain barriers, pushing limits, chasing perfection, healing traumas and so much more. It’s rarely about only winning or the physical aspect of sports, the motivations to play are endless. I discovered that it doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor, man or woman, young or old, healthy or not, we all play but we all play for different reasons.

I believe that the true power of play is in unifying people, bringing people together, not only on the field but also as spectators. Play can bring so much joy around the entire globe. I hope that people will realize this more and get inspired by the Human Playground project.

Hannelore, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Hannelore, I was born in Chile and raised in Belgium. I discovered my passion for photography and traveling at an early stage. I always felt more like a citizen of the world and was curious to discover all the beauty of this magnificent earth and its people. I was lucky enough to turn this curiosity into my job. For my first assignment, I traveled to the most isolated places on earth to document the last remaining tribes of the world together with photographer Jimmy Nelson for the ‘Before They Pass Away’ project. During these travels around the globe I met so many inspiring people and beautiful cultures. I decided to bundle all my experiences and make a book called ‘Before They Pass Away: the stories behind the photos’, which soon became a best-seller.

It was not long before I realized that I wanted to find my own story to tell. During my travels visiting the last remaining tribes, I witnessed what games they play in honor of their traditions. I truly got intrigued because those games were nothing like the sports we are familiar with. When I got home I started researching these games and during this research, I found many other unfamiliar and unique sports all over the world. I knew at the time that this was going to be the topic of my own story, my own project and that’s when I decided to embark on my mission for ‘Human Playground – Why We Play’.

As a photographer, what interests me most are the people and their stories, which means I have to get close to them to create a bond of trust. Therefore I spend extended periods living with communities, not just to capture their image but also to be able to capture their essence. I work instinctually and combine reportage with on-set studio portraits. I prefer smaller lenses, allowing me to feel closer to the subject. I want to feel what they feel – the danger, the adrenaline, the joy.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I was in Nigeria for my project ‘Human Playground’ I wanted to photograph and share the story of the ‘Special Eagles’ amputee soccer team. We were in the mega-city of Lagos and even though I had witnessed a lot of poverty in my life already, I’d never experienced anything like this.. The ‘Special Eagles’ team consisted of a group of young men who all lost a leg or arm mostly due to an accident and extremely poor healthcare. Most of them played soccer before their accidents but somehow found the strength to keep playing even after losing a leg or arm. The resilience and mindset of these boys are something to truly admire. They prove that it doesn’t matter what challenges you have to face in life, you can always find a way to play!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes, my vision for Human Playground is to tell unique stories of people all over the world under several global and unifying themes. The theme ‘Why We Play’ shows that it doesn’t matter where you live or what race you are, we are all human and we all play. We play in different settings and for different reasons, but that’s what makes this theme of sport so incredibly rich and interesting. I truly hope to continue to inspire people in the future with stories about many other global, unifying themes and help the world realize that we are all one. My deepest wish is for Human Playground to shine a light on humanity, highlighting this planet’s incredible beauty and diversity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.humanplayground.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humanplayground.official/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Humanplayground.official/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/human-playground/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/humanplaygr0und
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/oiFwZ-6ODbU

Image Credits
Hannelore Vandenbussche, Human Playground