'The Snake Church' exhibition in Besançon Magazine, France | Cyril Abad

This June, Inland photographer Cyril Abad is exhibiting “The Snake Church” at the Galerie de l’ancienne Poste in Besançon. In this project, Cyril traveled to the Appalachian Mountains between Kentucky and West Virginia in the summer of 2020. Behind the doors of a few small churches in the Appalachians, there are deadly snakes hiding. In the United States, a small number of isolated Pentecostal churches have made snake handling a religious service since the early 20th century, based on a very literal interpretation of a biblical passage from the Gospel of Mark:

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In my name, they will cast out demons, speak with new tongues, take snakes, and if they drink something deadly*, it will not do them any harm; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will heal," - Mark 16:17-18-18.

Exhibition on view from June 6 - June 28 2026
Galerie de l'Ancienne Poste, Besançon
Free entry
In partnership with Graind’pixel.

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