Dropouts

Beyond civilisation

In search of people who have had enough of big city life, the French photographer Antoine Bruy has traveled through Europe and North America. The result is the visually stunning photo series “Scrublands,” in which he documents people who opt out of society, depicting their everyday lives
By Antoine Bruy 01/09/2023
We see a person from behind walking along a path about 50 meters away towards a mountainous landscape.

Scene of a hike in the Spanish comarca Sierra de Cazorla

Photo: Antoine Bruy

A makeshift, almost somewhat dilapidated looking house, leafy trees all around.

A self-built house in the Pyrenees, France

Photo: Antoine Bruy

A young woman is sitting on a chair in a kitchen, behind her an old-fashioned stove with a large pot. She wears her hair braided, her black pants have holes. She is barefoot and looks into the camera.

Dropout Eireann in Washington State, USA

Photo: Antoine Bruy

Avi wears a too large burgundy jacket and beige pants, his feet are bare. His dog is sitting next to him, he is black. Avi wears black hair and a gray beard. In the background you can see the hut, it looks makeshift. There are also utensils, furniture and baskets around. Behind it begins the forest.

Dropout Avi with his dog in front of his hut in Sierra Nevada, Spain

Photo: Antoine Bruy

An old cork oak forest.

Cork oaks in the Sierra del Hacho, Spain

Photo: Antoine Bruy

A construction of wooden bars arranged in a triangular shape, covered with a transparent large tarpaulin or foil, on the floor a rough carpet and large clay pots, on the left an armchair.

A homemade dome in the Sierra del Hacho

Photo: Antoine Bruy

An elderly man with a white cloth around his head looks out of the door of a small hut. He bends down to a pied cat and strokes it. The hut is made of field stones at the bottom and boards above. The roof is made of a canvas.

The hermit Uli in front of his small house in Sierra Nevada

Photo: Antoine Bruy

Tags

Haven’t found what you were looking for?

KULTURAUSTAUSCH is the magazine for international perspectives. It is published quarterly and presents international cultural relations from fresh perspectives. We focus on people and regions that rarely feature in the German debate.

Renowned authors such as Serhij Zhadan, Fatou Diome, Liao Yiwu, Ibram X. Kendi or Gioconda Belli have their say, as do other voices from around the globe from Afghan women doctors to mine workers in Congo to racing drivers from Qatar.

KULTURAUSTAUSCH stands for diversity and close-up journalism. Published by ifa – Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations in partnership with ConBrio Verlag.