Snakes fascinate me: they’re symbolic in almost every mythology, potent as a handgun and steeped in more cultural associations than I can easily name (and I can’t forget Pentecostal snake healing, which I’m kind of obsessed with). I recently came upon Brett Walker’s Snakebite Survivors’ Club portraits and they struck fear in my flailing, reptilian-repulsed psyche. These photographs document snakebite survivors in a stark light: no diffusion, no filters, no attempts to sugarcoat the reality of cheating fanged death. I’m assuming that this series is associated with the book by the same name, The Snakebite Survivors Club: Travels Among Serpents by Jeremy Seal. It looks to be a fascinating study of the human relationship with the dreaded viper:
“Seal’s interest is more than curiosity, it’s phobic — and that’s what makes it so compelling. Whether he’s meeting the American woman who survived her husband’s attempt to murder her with a rattlesnake, or the Kilifi man who survived a black mamba, or the conveniently named Dundee — the Australian who shrugged off a taipan — you can sense his subtext: ‘What would I have done?’ and “Could I have survived?’”
Definitely a book worth picking up. I’m putting in on my library list! For more of Brett Walker’s survivor photography check out his Flickr.
Wow….I am pretty sure those pictures will haunt me. I love the light and dark contrast though on them. Amazing photography…
If you’re fascinated with snake healing you should read Salvation on Sand Mountain…
http://www.amazon.com/Salvation-Sand-Mountain-Snake-Handling-Redemption/dp/0140254587
Wow! That book looks incredible.
moly mackerel. those photographs are so raw and unforgiving that i found myself flinching back. and i’m thinking that’s precisely the reaction the photographer is going for…? i’m not fascinated by snakes, but i’m not repulsed by them either. i have a healthy fear of the ones that hurt, and am neutral about the ones that don’t. but according to the chinese zodiac, i was born in the Year of the Snake, so perhaps i should learn a bit more about my reptilian friends!
Girl, you are rocking my world with this blog. Where have you been all my life?
Um, your blog is hilarious and amazing. Definitely following you from now on!