Background information
"'The Werewolf of Allariz' was a woman who lived in 19th-century Spain. Known as Manuel Blanco Romasanta, but named Manuela at birth, the legendary 'werewolf'”—now believed to have lived with a rare syndrome of intersexuality—was Spain’s first documented serial killer. Beautiful and eerie, 'Lobismuller' reconstructs from a female perspective the story of the most enigmatic and bloodthirsty criminal in Spanish history. Earning the title of 'the Tallow Man,' due to his habit of converting his victims’ fat into high-quality soap, Manuel admitted to nine murders at his 1853 trial. And yet he pleaded not guilty, for he was suffering, he claimed, from a curse that turned him into a wolf. This eerily beautiful artist’s book by Spanish photographer Laia ABRIL, who studied at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York and worked at 'Colors' magazine, is an unusual document of a haunting history in which the forces of criminality, sexuality and social marginalization coalesced into something deadly." (publisher's note, © RM, 2017)
Spanish description
"Lobismuller reconstruye desde una perspectiva del todo singular la historia del asesino en serie más enigmático y sanguinario de la historia española: Manuel Blanco Romasanta. Durante el juicio que se celebró en 1853 Manuel admitió haber cometido nueve asesinatos (de los diecisiete atribuidos), sin embargo, siempre se declaró inocente, argumentando que era víctima de una asombrosa maldición que lo hacía convertirse en lobo y le arrastraba a perpetrar sus abominables crímenes. Laia Abril vuelve a exhibirse en este magnífico foto libro de la mano del diseñador Ramón Pez. La autora consigue desplegar con rotundidad su asombrosa capacidad de explicar historias, mediante la combinación de un intenso trabajo de investigación periodístico-antropológico y de un desarrollo visual cargado de gran sensibilidad." (publisher's note, © RM, 2017)
About the Spanish photographer and book designer, Laia ABRIL
Photo books by Laia ABRIL
- Format
- HC (no dust jacket, as issued), 20 x 27 x 1,5 cm., 192 pp. with inlets, 107 b/w & color ills., text language: English