Fazal Sheikh

The Bank of the Republic of Colombia in Bogotá, together with the Mapfre Foundation, houses since February 6 the exhibition Fazal Sheikh, an exhibition that will be open until March 26 and that is being presented in the Colombian capital after having been in Madrid and Amsterdam. It is the most complete and ambitious exhibition by this photographer. A dialogue among his various projects has been generated for the first time, from his early series Kenya (1989-1991) and South Africa (1989) to his most recent works created in India between 2005 and 2008, moving through Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Somalia, or Brazil, places on which he focuses to convey the dignity as well as the conflicts of the subjects portrayed, so that spectators can break away from preconceived notions when contemplating poverty. Fazal Sheikh (New York, 1965) first thinks and then acts, or to put it another way, he first gets to know the persons he will always portray-members of poor communities in underdeveloped countries. He gets involved with them, interacts, shares their living conditions, understands their realities, and only then he does he press the shutter. The exhibition consists of images that represent tragic and violent stories with uncanny human dignity, something that has attracted the attention of the critics. He has shown his work in venues such as The Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, The Netherlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam, the Tate Modern in London, The Art Institute of Chicago, the International Center of Photography (ICP) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), both in New York City. Fazal Sheikh has also been awarded the following important recognitions for his work as a photographer: the MacArthur Fellowship, and the Henri Cartier-Bresson International Grand Prix.