Aerial photograph of red desert sand that resembles waves in the ocean
Image Credit

Fazal Sheikh, from the series Thirst: Great Salt Lake, November 2022. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Fazal Sheikh

Thirst | Exposure | In Place
Now On View

Fazal Sheikh, from the series Thirst: Great Salt Lake, November 2022. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Fazal Sheikh: Thirst | Exposure | In Place is an exhibition created from three projects photographer Fazal Sheikh made on the Colorado Plateau from 2017 to early 2023. Sheikh’s portraits and landscapes shed light on the far-reaching consequences of extractive industry and climate change.

Born in 1965 in New York City, Sheikh creates images of displaced communities and marginalized people that prompt awareness of the world beyond the museum. The photographs in Thirst ǀ Exposure ǀ In Place expose indelible marks on the Colorado Plateau and American Southwest landscape that have been etched by both geological and human forces. Through this beautiful and sometimes frightening new work, Sheikh encourages viewers to witness the consequences of the past and imagine the shape of the future.

The exhibition presents Sheikh’s recent work in three interrelated sections: Thirst is a new series of aerial photographs that document the decline of the Great Salt Lake in northeast Utah, which is shrinking due to overconsumption and dwindling rain and snowfall. Exposure examines the impacts of uranium, coal, oil and natural-gas extraction on the American Southwest and on its Indigenous inhabitants. In Place evokes the enduring landscapes of the Bears Ears region in Utah, bringing Sheikh’s photographs together with contributions from scientists and Indigenous communities in and around Bears Ears in southeastern Utah.

Visitors will reflect upon the transformation—and often devastation—of these landscapes in the context of the past, present and future, while considering the juxtaposition of beauty and catastrophe, as well as intimate, human-scale stories and those spanning vast geological eras and changes.

This exhibition is on view from March 10, 2024, through October 20, 2024.

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Martin Building, Level 6
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Overhead view of an oil and gas field with pockets of minerals and materials that resemble lakes

Fazal Sheikh, Chapita Wells Oil and Gas Field, Uintah Range, Utah, 40°4'10"N/109°27'26"W, from the series Exposure, 2017. Pigmented inkjet print. Yale University Art Gallery, purchased with a gift from Jane P. Watkins, M.P.H. 1979. Image courtesy and © Fazal Sheikh

Landscape photograph of the mountainous ridges in the Four Corners region between Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico

Fazal Sheikh, from the installation In Place (Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, Four Corners Region), 2017-2020. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Photograph of the great salt lake with a large swath of red sand

Fazal Sheikh, from the series Thirst: Great Salt Lake, November 2022. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Overheard photograph of the Four Corners region depicting a dark brown ridge and flat landscape

Fazal Sheikh, from the installation In Place (Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, Four Corners Region), 2017-2020. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Landscape photograph of a tan and beige canyon ridge

Fazal Sheikh, from the installation In Place (Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, Four Corners Region), 2017-2020. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Landscape photograph of the flatlands in the Four Corners region

Fazal Sheikh, from the installation In Place (Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, Four Corners Region), 2017-2020. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Black and white photograph of an elder Navajo man's face

Fazal Sheikh, Jonah Yellowman (Diné), Spiritual Advisor to Utah Diné Bikéyah, Cane Valley–Monument Valley, Navajo Nation, from the series Exposure, 2022. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Landscape photograph of a rock area with a large gray uranium deposit in the center that resembles a lake

Fazal Sheikh, Mexican Hat Uranium Mill Disposal Cell, Mexican Hat, Utah, 37°8'0.88"N/109°52'28"W, from the series Exposure, 2017. Pigmented inkjet print. Yale University Art Gallery, purchased with a gift from Jane P. Watkins, M.P.H. 1979. Image courtesy and © Fazal Sheikh

Black and white photograph of an elder Navajo woman

Fazal Sheikh, Lola Yellowman (Diné), Widow of Uranium Miner John Guy, Cane Valley–Monument Valley, Navajo Nation, from the series Exposure, 2019. Pigmented inkjet print. Yale University Art Gallery, purchased with a gift from Jane P. Watkins, M.P.H. 1979. Image courtesy and © Fazal Sheikh

Black and white photograph of an older Native American gentleman wearin a baseball cap

Fazal Sheikh, Norman Sam (Diné), Lifelong Shepherd, Montezuma Creek, Aneth Chapter, Southeastern Utah, from the series Exposure, 2019. Pigmented inkjet print. Yale University Art Gallery, purchased with a gift from Jane P. Watkins, M.P.H. 1979. Image courtesy and © Fazal Sheikh

Abstract aerial view of the Great Lake region with strands of earth that resembles veins

Fazal Sheikh, from the series Thirst: Great Salt Lake, November 2022. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Aerial photograph of a lush red and orange earthy landscape

Fazal Sheikh, from the series Thirst: Great Salt Lake, November 2022. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Aerial view of a desolate deep red landscape

Fazal Sheikh, from the series Thirst: Great Salt Lake, November 2022. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

Photograph of the great salt lake with a large swath of red sand

Fazal Sheikh, from the series Thirst: Great Salt Lake, November 2022. Pigmented inkjet print. © and courtesy Fazal Sheikh

From the Artist

Ahead of the exhibition's opening, Fazal Sheikh came to the museum to speak about his recent work and the series of photographs that comprise Thirst | Exposure | In Place. Sheikh discusses the origin of each series, his immersion in the landscapes and communities he photographed, and his collaborations with writers, scientists, and Indigenous community members that are woven throughout this work.

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Fazal Sheikh: Thirst | Exposure | In Place is organized by the Denver Art Museum. The exhibition is presented by Jane P. Watkins, with additional support from the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.