In La chambre claire. Note sur la photographie [The Clear Room. A Note on Photography], published by Gallimard/Seuil (Paris) in 1980, Roland Barthes examines the ontology of photography. He discusses how photography “repeats what can no longer be repeated existentially”, and therefore represents “the absolute Particular”, being “entirely weighed down by contingency”. Barthes emphasized the tautological nature of photography, which “takes its referent with it”, glued one to the other, or put it simply, where the image and its referent are inseparable.

Visual anthropology, however, taking a different path, has used the particular as a starting point for broader reflections and constructions, and has questioned the tautological nature of photography as an object of projection between the viewer and the viewed.

The question we aim to explore is how to take account of the real or supposed existence of spirits in the study of possession phenomena in Nepal, without fully embracing a position that adheres strictly to belief or, on the contrary, rejects it. How can visual anthropology assist us in this exploration?