In Place

Photographs by Fazal Sheikh of

Sacred Lands in the American Southwest

2017–2023

In Place is a series of photographs made above and across the sacred lands that surround Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah in the United States. In 2017, Fazal Sheikh was introduced to the members of Utah Diné Bikéyah, a tribal coalition made up of the Hopi, Navajo, Ouray Ute, Ute Mountain Ute and Zuni, formed to preserve their ancestral lands from the incursion of mining and drilling companies. Invited to join them as an artist-in-residence, during the years that followed, Sheikh took regular walks through the landscape, studying its ancient markings and rock formations, also recording its mountain ranges, rivers and canyons crossed by ancient tracks from above. These are images intended for contemplation, and like the small meditative book into which they have been collected, are an expression of Sheikh’s respect for these indigenous people and for the territories they defend. In contrast to Sheikh’s other works documenting the destruction of so much of the Southwest, it serves as a book of consolation – a chance to consider what we have lost, and the importance of protecting what we have left.