King of Poisons and Poison of Kings
A new photobook from The Eriskay Connection explores a peculiar facet of Austrian cultural history.
With its saffron color and flexible vinyl, the cover of Simon Brugner's book The Arsenic Eaters evokes both a roll of crime scene tape and the golden arches of a McDonaldโs restaurant. These polar associations do well to describe both the concepts and contents within this special photography book and research project.
Photographer Brugner grew up in Styria, a mountainous, forested state in southern Austria. Though predominantly known for its wine, spas and castles, the region was also a mining town whose residents self-medicated with this potentially deadly product of the earth. Weaving together his original images of contemporary life in the region with archival images from his own personal collection, the artist's research project is an attempt to internalize this history by creating a new visual narrative. Publishing in the U.S. in late June 2018, The Arsenic Eaters, in stunning full color offset printing, is sure to be up for awards in the photobook community.
Photographer Simon Brugner was trapped in a cave like this one as a child.
Furnace workers got the worst of noxious gas exposure.
