Photography has a long tradition of taking people to faraway places and of demystifying the unknown. With the exhibition "Northern Haiti: Human Landscape," St. Louis-based photographer Patti Gabriel does just that.

"Most people, when they think of Haiti, think of the earthquake (in 2010) and the devastation in the south," says Gabriel, who traveled to the northern town of Milot in 2010 and last year as a photographer and nonmedical volunteer with the CRUDEM Foundation.

The north was not affected by the earthquake, but it shares in Haiti's economic woes: "This is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It's really difficult to understand that if you haven't been there."

But the more than 40 photographs in "Northern Haiti," she says, focus on "a sense of dignity and hopefulness" rather than poverty. The exhibition at Sheldon Art Galleries includes an audio installation that Zlatko Kosic created from sounds that Gabriel recorded.

In "Storefront, Cap Haitien," a man walks past an auto parts shop. Only the back of his head is visible, which lends him an air of mystery. In contrast, a political candidate's face can be seen on dozens of identical posters displayed outside the shop.

"Makeshift schoolroom, Milot" depicts a teacher reading from a piece of paper as kids work at long desks, looking as bored and restless as their contemporaries elsewhere in the world.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the photographs is "Local Domino Game, Milot." Two men and a woman sit at an outdoor table, engaged in a domino game, as a third man stands near them. Clothespins hang from his ears and jowls as he gazes at us guardedly.

Gabriel cites among her influences noted photographers Irving Penn and Imogen Cunningham.

"You see a lot of their commercial work, but they did a lot of work that was not commercial," she says.

Shooting the photographs in "Northern Haiti" in color rather than black and white, Gabriel says, was a natural aesthetic choice given the people and their surroundings.

"There's so much color, and so much beauty in the color," she says. "I had been predominantly a black-and-white photographer over the years. But I didn't even have to think about it. It was going to be color for me."

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"Northern Haiti: Human Landscape — Photographs by Patti Gabriel"

When Through June 2; gallery hours are noon-8 p.m. Tuesday, noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and the hour before performances and during intermission • Where Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg Gallery, Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Boulevard • How much Free • More info 314-533-9900 or thesheldon.org

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Also on view at the Sheldon Art Galleries

• "Edge of Darkness: Photographs by Steve Giovinco and Tim Simmons" in the Gallery of Photography: This exhibition looks into "the quality of light and its psychological implications." Through May 12.

• "Made in the Shade: Paul Rudolph's Florida Houses Revisited" in the Bernoudy Gallery of Architecture: Work by the noted architect includes models, drawings and full-scale prototypes. Through May 19.

• "Liquid Terrain: 20 Years of Works on Paper by Eva Lundsager" in the Bellwether Gallery of St. Louis Artists: These works "mine the territory between landscape and abstraction." Through Aug. 18.

• "The Beat Goes On: Instruments from the Hartenberger World Music Collection" in the History of Jazz Gallery: Prominent jazz artists donated their instruments to the collection. Through Aug. 18.

• "Art by Children of Artists" in the AT&T Gallery of Children's Art: Can artistic talent be inherited? This exhibition might provide answers to the nature-versus-nurture question. Through Sept. 22.