Living in the Forest in the 21st Century

While most people spend their frenetic lives in civilized cities surrounded by other human beings, Russian photographer Danila Tkachenko immortalizes those that choose to live a solitary existence in the wilderness.

Despite the technological advances that we use every day to improve our social life, there are still some that - consciously or not - prefer to live as hermits in self-imposed exile, far away from any city or village.

Tkachenko’s series, called Escape, portraits men that have rejected the modern lifestyle and made their homes in the Russian and Ukrainian forest. They live alone among nature, where they create makeshift dwellings from the land and lose their social identity.

“School, work, family – once in this cycle, you are a prisoner of your own position. You should be pragmatic and strong, or become an outcast or a lunatic. How to remain yourself in the midst of this?” Tkachenko asks, raising questions about what identity truly means when we are forced to live how society tells us to.

These charming and disconcerting pictures make us wonder if we could ever survive without constant communication, connections, technology and facilities and live in a place where solitude is a virtue.

Source: My Modern Met