“Masks! Oh Masks!
Black mask, red mask, you black and white masks,
Rectangular masks through whom the spirit breathes,
I greet you in silence!
And you too, my panther headed ancestor.
You guard this place, that is closed to any feminine laughter, to any mortal smile.
You purify the air of eternity, here where I breathe the air of my fathers.
Masks of maskless faces, free from dimples and wrinkles.
You have composed this image, this my face that bends
Over the altar of white paper.
In the name of your image, listen to me!”

Prayer to Masks – Léopold Sédar Senghor

Gauri Gill (b. 1970, Chandigarh, India) has exhibit ed within India and internationally, including documenta 14, Athens and Kassel. Her work is in t he collections of prominent institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi and the National Gallery of Canada, Ontario. In 2011 she was awarded the Grange Prize, Canada’s foremost award for photography. She lives and works in Delhi.

This special edition of PHOTOPAPER has 32 pages. With an essay by Natasha Ginwala. Images above showing selected pages.