Where the Spirit Still Exists

This series documents ritual and religious ceremonial practices of Haiti. Often misunderstood and maligned, Haitian Vodou is ancestral worship that provides a living connection with the psychic heritage of a people and a place torn apart during the colonial slave trade. The inheritance of these ancestral spirits provides the foundation for Haitian Vodou. 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. 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 found in Haiti. In this way, Haitian Vodou is an act of affirmation in the face of hellish adversity. What survives in this land is by necessity only. The vital spirit of Vodou that has lasted centuries of persecution defines the human foundation that is left when almost everything else has been taken. It is my intention to bring this strength to light.

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.