Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 30th April 2019 – A new photography project from Nikon Ambassadors Bénédicte Kurzen and Sanne De Wilde investigates the contrasting beliefs regarding twinhood in contemporary Nigerian society. Equipped with the D850, Z 7 and NIKKOR lenses, the photographers immersed themselves in the communities of Igbo-Ora, where more twins are born than anywhere else in the world¹, the town of Abuja, which represents a darker history of twinhood in the country, and Calabar where traditions and beliefs have been transformed.
The rate of twin births in West Africa is about four times higher than in the rest of the world¹. In response to this high birth rate, binary beliefs and practices - from celebration to devotion to demonization - have evolved across Nigeria. In many areas, shrines are built to worship the spirit of twins and where siblings are encouraged to embrace their sameness and feel lucky to have such an inseparable bond, in others, there are reports of twins still being killed for their perceived role in being evil.