"Hugo transcends conventional notions of realism not so much because of her technical ability, but because her drawings of people somehow capture the essence of each particular subject."
- Peter Machen
Lena Hugo, formerly known as Helena Hugo, is well known for her highly finished, detailed, expressions of people, mostly South African and migrant workers, whom she portrays as people with reconsidered status and importance, using mainly chalk pastel as her medium. She investigates our universal human condition by means of a delicate empathy, which is key to her work. She also explores the important natural world that surrounds and supports us and it is through her drawings, that she tries to make sense of our own and our environment’s transient and fragile nature.