Where the Spirit Still Exists

• Prize
• Photographer
  Troi Anderson , United States
• Socials
• Website
  http://www.troianderson.com

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.

• Biography
  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.
• Awards
  Collections Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego Awards 2018 IPA International Photography Awards A Deeper Perspective 2018 Communication Arts Photography Annual 59 2018 American Photography 34 2018 Palm Springs Photography Festival, Featured Screening 2017 International Photography Awards 3rd Place, Traditions and Cultures Honorable Mention, Portraits 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, Commended 2016 American Photography 32 2015 Critical Mass Top 50 2015 International Photography Awards Honorable Mention, Traditions and Culture Honorable Mention, Culture Honorable Mention, Landscapes Honorable Mention, Night Photography 2015 Palm Springs Photography Festival Featured Screening, Songs of the Spirit Featured Screening, Software Fictions 2015 PX3 Prix De La Photographie Paris Gold Winner, First Place. Press/Feature Story Gold Winner, First Place. Press Honorable Mention. Press/ Feature Story 2015 PX3 Prix De La Photographie Paris, White Competition Gold Winner, First Place. Documentary Bronze Winner, Third Place. Documentary Honorable Mention. Documentary 2014 Musee Magazine, Emerging Artist 2014 International Photography Awards 2nd place, People and Culture Honorable Mention, People and Culture Honorable Mention, Traditions and Cultures 2014 PX3 Prix De La Photographie Paris Silver Winner, 2nd place. Feature Story Category Silver Winner, 2nd place. Feature Story Category Silver Winner, 2nd Place. Travel/Tourism Category 2014 Smithsonian Magazine Photography Awards, finalist 2014 Sony World Photography Awards, Commended top 30 Photographers 2014 Aperture Summer Open, exhibition winner 2014 Kiku International Mountain Summit Photography Awards, finalist 2014 Professional Photographer Magazine, Photographer of the Year, finalist