TITLE: Voodoo Spirit

It was in Togo and Benin that Voodoo was born, but from the 17th century, black people enslaved spread Voodoo in America and in the Caribbean. For historians, the immense suffering of slaves deported to America is undoubtedly at the origin of the transformation of Voodoo on the American continent, towards practices more related to witchcraft or Satanism.
In the African tradition, during rites combining prayers songs and dances, Voodoo allows people to connect with the deities and spirits of the ancestors.
French artist Brice Kapel, songwriter and performer, wonders about his dual cultural identity. If he arrived in France at the age of seven, he was born in Togo, in the village of Porto Seguro. This village was in the 17th century one of the major spots of slave traffic leaving for the Americas, on the "Coast of Slaves". This series of photographs allows Brice, the body covered with the soil of his ancestors, to reconnect with his origins, paying tribute to Voodoo deities such as trees, land and water.

AUTHOR: Patrick Desgraupes (France)

Patrick Desgraupes is a French photographer. He has trained on the job in different Parisian studios and in labs, in which he acquired an understanding of light, one of the strong traits of his current works. He made photographs of portrait, fashion, decoration, architecture and still life. His work has been published since 2004 at Editions de la Martinière (his book on the National Parks of France gets the second place at the National Tourism Award in 2010 in Paris), in numerous magazines and brochures. He has become a recognized landscape specialist in the 4x5 inches large format camera, and his work has been published in the USA and in seven European countries. He has made numerous exhibitions in Iceland, Belgium, France for the National Parks of France and the Ministry of Ecology, in Slovenia, on the island of Reunion and in Guadeloupe. His photographs testify to his passion for light.
He currently lives and works in France.
In 2017, he won in London the following prices:
The “Fujifilm Award for Innovation”, First Edition,
The «Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year" Award/ places category,
The "Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year" Award/ overall winners, at famous Pink Lady Awards.
His photographs has won numerous awards in 2017 and 2018: 36 Honorable mentions, Nominations and Bronze medals at International Color Awards in Los Angeles, IPA-International Photography Awards in New York, PX3-Prix de la Photographie in Paris, ND AWARDS, Monochrome Photography Awards, Monovision Photography Awards and Fine Art Photography Awards in London.