Don’t forget that we are also in New York City this week for Art New York! We are honored to present photographs by Omar Imam, which will be featured in our upcoming summer exhibition “Targeted.”

Omar Imam
In “Live, Love, Refugee” Omar Imam dissolves the recurrent representation of Syrian refugees by replacing numbers, reports, and statistics with hallucinations, fears, and dreams. In refugee camps across Lebanon, Omar collaborates with individuals through a process of catharsis, one he believes to be deeply healing. He asks them to recreate their dreams: dreams of escape, dreams of emasculation, and dreams of love and terror. Sparse and surrealistic, the resulting images evoke the deepest and darkest inner worlds of those persisting everyday with their roots stretching further from a home left behind. In turn, these self-composed photographs challenge projections of victimization, offering entry into the expressive interior from which our humanity stems.

In 2012, the Syrian activist turned photographer was kidnapped and tortured by a militia and only let go when a friend intervened. Soon after, Imam left Damascus with his parents and wife, settling in Beirut where he and his wife started a family.  In his photographic works, Imam uses irony and a conceptual approach to respond to the violent situation in Syria, often publishing his work under a pseudonym. After leaving Damascus in late 2012, he began making fictional short films that often focus on the Syrian refugee experience. Individually and with NGOs, he has produced films, photographic projects, and workshops for Syrian refugees. His wife, children and parents only recently received the paperwork that will allow them to join him.

See the full installation at Pier 94 through this Sunday, May 7. Click here to see the complete list of our featured artists at Art New York. If you are in New York City, stop by the fair with this complimentary pass. Otherwise, we’ll see you in Chicago for opening night of Gallery Artists 2017!