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Burton went to Benin to learn about this ancestral belief system, and lived among the Voodoo priests. The result is 113 monumental photographs, 57 of which are of high Voodoo priests, and 56 of revered Voodoo objects. The portraits of the high priests are in black and white, printed on silver paper, and were made with a 1952 Rolleiflex. The work gives its subjects a timeless quality. The voodoo objects on the other hand were photographed in color with a state-of-the-art digital camera. The photographer aims to transmit the esthetic quality of the Benin voodoo cult through his images. Each dignitary is illustrated with his sacred altar. The result is an astonishing and varied gallery of multifaceted personalities, all the more interesting when one discovers their personal altars. But let there be no mistake about it: these photographs do not divulge any of the cult’s secrets. They show only the forms, the places and the objects associated with it, and the high priests reveal only their faces, and their facial expressions, imbued with powerful spirituality. These expressive photographs tell a story which it remains up to us to discover. They aim to demystify Voodoo, and to enable those who fear and mistrust it to gain a better understanding of it: “My approach was to try to correct the cliché, and to invite Africans, as well as foreigners, to reconsider Voodoo, and to give it a place worthy of its rank.”

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