Duncan Family Portrait, Tennessee 2008, photographed by Lucas Foglia from his Re-Wilding project. [Re-wilding: the process of creating a lifestyle that is independent of the domestication of civilization.]

“I grew up with my extended family on a farm in suburban Long Island. Influenced by the back-to-the-land movement of the 1960’s, my parents maintained an agricultural lifestyle as malls and supermarkets developed around us. We heated with wood, grew and canned our food and bartered plants for everything from shoes to dentistry.

Through a family friend, I was introduced to a network of people in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia who have responded to environmental concerns and predictions of societal collapse by moving to the wilderness. Most of my subjects live off-the-grid, build their homes from local materials, obtain their water from nearby streams and hunt, gather or grow their own food. I am intrigued by their desire for self-sufficiency and by the complexity of their relationship with the natural world.”

—Lucas Foglia

The woman at the center of this picture is holding a photo of herself on her wedding day.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 12:00 pm ET by Darren Ching and is filed under Documentary, Fine Art, Personal, Portraiture.