In the tradition of crossover photographers such as Richard Avedon, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, and Steven Meisel, Jackie Nickerson switched from snapping fashion spreads to staging inventive portraits. After establishing a commercial and editorial career, which included shooting for Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire, Nickerson decided to pursue her own projects and has since traveled the world in search of new subjects. In the last ten years, she has lived in South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ireland, and Spain, with each place facilitating her investigations of different cultural and religious practices.

Nickerson's Farm series documents migrant and plantation workers in southern Africa. Beginning with a trip to Zimbabwe in 1997, Nickerson toured the region, capturing the gaunt faces of agricultural workers. In her sparse, sensitive photographs, Nickerson uses strong, natural light to express hardship as well as vitality. Although influenced by documentary and commercial photography, her images defy the conventional detachment of those genres with their empathetic representation of their subjects.

In Faith, a more recent series, Nickerson explicitly uses her commercial training to produce surprising portraits of clergy. Documenting the Catholic orders of Ireland, she produced a suite of carefully composed portraits depicting warm and welcoming nuns, such as the jovial Sister Anne. The artist pairs these individual shots with photographs of quiet interiors. In Green Room, bright light from a window shines on her subjects to create a picture full of life, grace, and serenity.

-PJ