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‘FAZAL SHEIKH: PORTRAITS’ WILL OPEN AT PACE MACGILL FALLERY OCT. 18 avv/lsb

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NEW YORK CITY — Pace/MacGill Gallery will present “Fazal Sheikh: Portraits,” a retrospective exhibition on view October 18–November 24. The exhibition coincides with “Beloved Daughters,” an exhibition featuring Sheikh’s most recent projects, “Moksha” and “Ladli,” on view at the Princeton University Art Museum through January 6.

Sheikh (b 1965) is a socially engaged documentary photographer who harnesses the intimacy of portraiture to bring the face of the world’s displaced people into focus. His subjects have included Ethiopian, Mozambican, Sudanese and Somali refugees at camps in Kenya, survivors of the society occupation of Afghanistan and the indigenous people of Brazil. In contrast to the sensational depictions of humanitarian crises often generated by the mass media, Sheikh creates personal portraits of his subjects while spending time in their communities.

Most recently, Sheikh photographed Hindu widows in Vrindavan, one of India’s holy places. Women toward the end of life travel to and settle in the sacred city to pass their last years. Sheikh’s portraits of them reveal an acceptance of their mortality and their spiritual search for what is to come.

While in Delhi, the photographer documented the lives of girls and young women in a rapidly changing but tradition-bound society. Their stories reveal shocking experiences of abduction, rape, labor exploitation, spousal abuse and murder.

Although the economic profile of India may be adopting a more contemporary, First World face, it remains clear that the retrogressive practice of female subservience and sublimation in Indian society continues. Sheikh’s portraits capture and articulate his subjects’ histories with immediacy, sensitivity and dignity.

Pace/MacGill Gallery is at 32 East 57th Street. For information, www.pacemacgill.com or 212-759-7999.