Doug’s Cabin

Doug’s Cabin is a photo book which takes us into the footsteps of Doug, a man that has been living in the forests of Vancouver Island, Canada for 47 years. Karianne Bueno (NL) met him on his campsite in 2010, and was fascinated by his life on such a remote edge of the world. She always dreamed about a life away from society, and decided to visit Doug again with her camera two years later. Doug built his home on the foundations of a pioneer’s house, with the help of the last solitary forest dwellers. He found work as a carpenter on a military base near the lumberjack village of Holberg. The soldiers and their families formed a close community and Doug had his best years there. When the base closed after the Cold War and the buildings and remains would be burned, Doug decided to save what could be saved and to move deeper into the woods. But campers rarely come and the forest slowly takes back the open space. Doug gets old, he is losing the battle against the elements. Over the years, Bueno’s tangible photography project about living away from society turned into a labyrinth of stories and legends, across multiple layers of time and reality, like the jungle itself. With tranquil, jet stifling photographs, diary fragments and found footage, she takes us deeper into the forest, away from our hectic society, to wonder: do we actually have control over our lives? Are all our choices made as consciously as we like to believe?