The winner of this years First Book Award and getting his book published by MACK is Irish photographer Ciarán Oìg Arnold. His book ‘I went to the worst of bars hoping to get killed. but all I could do was to get drunk again’ documents troubled men of his home town during post recession Ireland. Arnold says,
“When you live there, your mind is heightened with a kind of psychological intensity. It’s hard to get that negative atmosphere across in photographs.”
However, we think this comes across in his images quite effortlessly.
“It wasn’t my intention to create a style or an aesthetic, but that grainy look become one as I continued working. It’s really down to the fact that I was so broke for most of the time I was shooting these images that I mostly used the 200 ASA Kodak film you are given free when you pick up your snaps from a chemists.”
Check out some of the images from Arnolds award winning book below!
All images from the series I went to the worst of bars hoping to get killed. but all I could do was to get drunk again © Ciarán Óg Arnold
This book is £20.00 and available for pre-order at: mackbooks.co.uk
For more information about the First Book Awards click here!
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