Borderlines At EXPO Chicago
- CASE Art Fund
- Sep 21, 2018
- 1 min read
EXPO Chicago is one of the leading art fairs in the USA, featuring 135 exhibitors. CASE was invited to present Imam’s work as one of their special exhibitions. Expo Chicago is committed to highlighting non-profit organizations that focus on humanitarian issues. Since this is one of the fundamental goals of CASE, we found EXPO Chicago to be the perfect venue to present the issue of displacement.
In a refugee tent, CASE Art Fund created a photographic installation of work by Syrian artist Omar Imam. In 2012, Syrian activist turned photographer Omar Imam was kidnapped and tortured by a militia and let go only 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 2016, he moved to Amsterdam, where he and his family currently reside.
The series LIVE, Love, Refugee is Imam's reflection on his conversations with Syrians in refugee camps throughout Lebanon, discussing their hopes, dreams and fears.
I am transfixed by your Borderlines show at the EXPO Chicago, it is so powerful, so immersive, so thoughtful. The reader sees and feels his words through the descriptive exaggerative imagery utilized by Omar Imam, giving insight into the experience of the refugee. As someone living in a university of waterloo residence, I find this work resonates with themes of identity, displacement, and belonging in shared spaces.