Lisa Ross investigates physical manifestations of faith, with journeys to the Sahara and Sinai leading to an ongoing body of work exploring pilgrimage. In recent work, Ross made repeated visits in and around the Taklamakan Desert—visiting sites of Uyghur shrines. These hand-made markers of faith leave an indelible mark on the landscape—touching on cycles of life and death, pilgrimage and sainthood. They are an affirmation of existence, a collective experience that is overpowering in its very humility.
The resulting large-scale photo and video works have been exhibited internationally, and refer to the site-specific traditions of land artists such as Andy Goldsworthy, evoking the existence and awe-inspiring power of landscape. The series culminated in the book Living Shrines of Uyghur China, published by The Monacelli Press and distributed internationally by Random House.
Lisa Ross is a New York-based artist. She received an MFA in Visual Arts from Columbia University. She has exhibited in the U.S., Europe, and Asia including the Rubin Museum of Art, New York; Fotografiska Museum, Sweden; Rencontres D’Arles Foto Festival, and La Vielle Charite, France; Tianshui Biennale, China, University of London, SOAS, Brunei Gallery, UK; UC Berkeley and Harvard University, USA. Ross has taught at Parsons School of Design and Columbia University, and pioneered a photo program for LGBT and homeless youth in NYC. She has worked on photography projects in North Africa, Central Asia, China, Europe and Azerbaijan. Ross received a Hayward Prize through the American Austrian Foundation, is 2016 grantee of Asian Cultural Council, was a 2016 Artist-in-Residence at the Watermill Center, and a 2018 Artist‐in-Residence at View Art Gallery, Lanzhou, China.