Ancestral Song

The images document trance ceremony in Haiti. Often misunderstood and maligned, Haitian Vodu is ancestral worship that provides a living connection with the psychic heritage of a people and place torn apart during the colonial slave trade. The inheritance through trance of these ancestral spirits provides the groundwork for Haitian Vodu. In Haiti, Vodu translates as "vo" meaning "introspection" and "du" meaning "into the unknown". Spirit is not seen as a vague, mystical evanescence, but rather intelligence, energy, a repository of moral knowledge. Rituals of birth, initiation, death and sacrifice are theatrically performed. The spiritual principles behind these rites are rekindled through this sacred performance. (Maya Deren, The Divine Horsemen) In my own work, I was not documenting a particular religion, but instead the great depth of cathartic human emotion possible in its desire for transcendence. For the devotional ceremonies and rites are always in measure to the difficult existence of Haiti. In this way, Haitian Vodu is an act of affirmation, an enduring strength and foundation for survival.

Troi Anderson is a fine art, documentary photographer based in Portland, Oregon. Troi began his career working in Magnolia Pictures and later, as a Merchant Marine sailing throughout Asia and the South Pacific. His work has been featured on CNN, GeoFrance, TIME Lightbox, The Oregonian, Black and White and the photo collective, Verve. Troi's photography has been exhibited in the Blue Sky Drawers program and has been named one of the Emerging Artists by Daniel Cooney Fine Art and Musee Magazine.