John Harvey, Photography and Spirit, Exposures Series
(London: Reaktion Books, 2007), pp. 144, 80 illustrations, 20 in colour, ISBN 978-1-86189-324-6.

Introduction
Can photography capture what our eyes cannot see? Since mid-Victorian times there have been numerous claims made for photographs that apparently show spirits or ghosts. But in reality, are they hoaxes or irrefutable proof of an ethereal world beyond our own?

In Photography and Spirit, John Harvey examines these mesmerizing images of phantoms, psychical emanations and religious apparitions. Drawing on 80 images taken between the 1860s and today, he explores images of spirits from the various perspectives of religion, science, and art. Some of the images were taken by scientists, others by commercial and amateur photographers, and still others by robotic surveillance devices. The diverse origins of these photographs have inspired a multiplicity of conflicting interpretations. Harvey’s analysis tests the connections between the images, the human imagination and larger cultural traditions. He shows that images which are often considered to be no more than fringe objects or an embarrassing and best-forgotten anomaly of photographic practice are revelatory artefacts of history, and draws from them thought-provoking insights into the connections between the material and spiritual worlds, representations of grief, and our enduring fascination with the supernatural.

Photographic images of ethereal spirits render the border between what is real and what is fantastical indistinguishable. Photography and Spirit challenges our preconceived notions and offers an intriguing new perspective on the nature of photography.