It is a commonly held belief in many non-Western cultures that a person's soul lives on, as if trapped, within a photograph. In the West African country of Benin, with its rich spiritual traditions of Catholicism and animism (voodoo was born here and is now Benin's official religion), the photograph came to play a fascinating role in the rituals of death. This catalog offers a unique collection of portrait photography, made by itinerant photographers for customers who may have only ever had one photo made of them, and who may have feared for its effect on their lives. Along with weddings and communions, courting couples and proud parents, here too are startling images of revenants and juju men, voodoo priests and priestesses, thieves and assassins, prostitutes and pimps, and deathbed portraits.
