Agafya update

Media closely follows the Old Believer hermit Agafya Lykov in her Siberian solitude. Here is another chapter in her story, as the headline in this Siberian Times article states: “Friend to reclusive hermit dies leaving Old Believer all alone again in taiga.” A geologist whose work acquainted him with the Lykov family, Yerofei Sedov built a hut for himself in his later years in the vicinity of Agafya’s dwelling. He died at 77.

URL: http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/n0230-friend-to-reclusive-hermit-dies-leaving-old-believer-all-alone-again-in-taiga/

Palestinian’s solitude art

Nidaa Barwan is a young Palestinian artist who took up solitude in order to withdraw from the horrors of war and oppression around her residence in Gaza. Taking up reading Garcia-Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude inspired her to conceive of consolidating her digital photographs into an exhibition theme titled “One Hundred Days of Solitude,” although she has maintained her solitude now for over a year, excluding only short forays from her room.

The exhibition has received attention, having been presented outside Gaza in Israel and profiled in the New York Times and by France24. Barwan structures the solitude of self as colorfully interior spaces, enriching the still-life photographs with a strong personal presence. As an artist, she asserts a protest to the world, naturally, and justifies this sentiment with a consciously constructed and maintained solitude.

URLs: http://www.nidaabadwan.com; http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/world/middleeast/finding-gaza-unbearable-artist-creates-her-own-world-in-one-room.html; http://www.france24.com/en/20150512-palestinian-artist-badwan-photography-bedroom-israel-hamas

Brazilian jungle “hermit”

The New York Times profiles 66-year old Shigeru Nakayama of Airao Velho, Brazil, descendent of Japanese settlers who migrated to Brazil after World War II to build a new future. The original settlers lived in larger cities, but Nakayama preferred the isolation of deeper jungle, and is now the only survivor of not only the Japanese in the town of Airao Velho but also of any survivors there. He tries to maintain the remnants of what the article calls a “ghost town” against the jungle’s encroachment, but is alone in his effort. Nakayama is called locally the “hermit of the jungle.”

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/09/world/americas/airao-velho-brazil-shigeru-nakayama.html