Human Playground is a spectacular book about sports and games, rituals and traditions.

Why do we play games? That is the question that inspires the Belgian photographer Hannelore Vandenbussche. She traveled to numerous countries to explore the world of sport, passion, athletic competition, transition and emancipation. The athletes she portrays keep old traditions alive or create new ones, perform rituals and listen to their sports and games with banging parties.

Meet Buzkashi players on their horses in Central Asia, Donga stick fighters in Ethiopia, Tarahumara runners in Mexico, big wave surfers in Nazaré, Portugal, and many other athletes in these extraordinary sports. Hannelore captures the athletes from indigenous cultures in remote parts of the world as well as from well-known western cultures. Both lesser known and the more famous sports and games from around the world are introduced to a wider audience. In her photographs, she poignantly conveys how old traditions are kept alive and new ones are born, how rites of passage, rituals, ceremonies and celebrations are all part of game culture. This special photo book is dedicated to a subject presented in a completely new way.

Hannelore Vandenbusche, born in Chile and raised in Belgium, is a photographer and a creative entrepreneur. In 2009 she traveled the world with Jimmy Nelson for almost three years for his project Before They Pass Away (teNeues 2014). For this worldwide bestseller, they photographed the world's last indigenous tribes together. During her adventurous travels, Hannelore was inspired by the different forms of play she saw all over the world. This led to her biggest project to date: Human Playground. Why we play.

Netflix will broadcast a six-part series accompanying the book in October 2022, voiced by none other than the well-known actor Idris Elba.