€48, Kehrer Verlag, hardback, 144pp, ISBN: 9783969001912
Frederik Rüegger doesn’t sneak into the ring – he swaggers. Inspired by boxing royalty Tyson Fury, the German-born, New Yorkseasoned, Berlin-based photographer steps between the ropes of Traveller culture and delivers a body of work with style and sting.
I Am a Stranger in This Country is his photographic thesis and debut publication, but it lands with the heft of a seasoned pro. Over two years, Rüegger immersed himself in the often-misunderstood Irish and English Traveller communities, chasing the rhythm of their lives across the vibrant, chaotic stages of traditional horse fairs.
His images bob and weave through a world that’s often judged from the outside: young men squaring up in makeshift rings, children on horseback like urban cowboys, weather-beaten faces watching the…