Omar Imam

Live, Love, Refugee

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 every day with their roots stretching further from home left behind. In turn, these self-composed photographs challenge projections of victimisation, offering entry into the expressive interior from which humanity stems.

''My project 'Live, Love, Refugee' tries to approach the mental state of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, asking how relationships and dreams are affected by conflict and displacement. It is a visual evocation of the pain and desire of Syrians who struggle to survive in their new land.

The people I met are in the worst possible conditions and nightmares, but they have the strength and desire to continue being human.

I chose to make complex photographs with many layers, employing symbolism and surrealism, in an attempt to approach the psychological situation of my character/subjects. I wanted to disrupt the viewers' expectations of images of refugees. To ask questions rather than give answers.

For me, this method is the best way to express these horrible experiences because it enables the spectator to imagine horrifying and over-imaged (but under-seen) cases like the Syrian situation when every related story is a copy of a copy of a copy. I like to shock the audience without being aggressive, avoiding the low-hanging fruit of political reaction and focusing instead on the deeper human perspective.''

Omar Imam (Damascus, 1979) is an Amsterdam-based, visual artist and Rijksakademie alumni.

In his sculptures, short films, and photographic works, Imam uses irony and a conceptual approach to respond to war, its consequences and causes. Imam’s photographs vacillate between mundane documents and utterly inconceivable dreams. His project 'Live, Love, Refugee' has been shown in 16 countries around the world. Omar is represented by Catherine Edelman Gallery.