Throughout Europe and other parts of the world, human skeletal remains are sometimes stored in vaults or crypts known as "catacombs", "ossuaries" or "charnel houses". A former morgue attendant, Nico Claux has always been drawn to them like a moth to a flame, eager to stare at the empty eye sockets of thousands of anonymous skulls piled up for eternity. For more than 20 years, he has been compiling photographs of his travels from the dark tunnels of the Paris catacombs to the bone chapel of Milan. But one man’s perspective is not enough for a good skull book. The author reached out to other fellow death enthusiasts so they could submit a selection of the medical specimens, partially mummified craniums and headhunted trophies kept in their private collections.
Illustrated with more than 200 color stills, Staring at Death – The Skulls
leads you on a visually striking journey from Brazil to Thailand, from the cabinets of anatomy museums to the shelves of the world’s most famous oddities shops.
The collector's edition of Staring at Death – The Skulls
is
signed and stamped with a print of the thumb with the author's blood.
