The Dreamers I

Iman Tajik (1982 - )

The Dreamers I - photograph - on Foamex board

2020

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  • About the work
    The Dreamers series is part of Iman Tajik's wider exploration of how globalisation and migration are experienced by individuals rather than as systems viewed from afar. It shows the artist in a Highland landscape, engaged in a performance around the notion of borders and national symbolism. For Tajik, who produced these photographic works during a residency at Deveron Arts in Huntly, the length of cloth represents the abstract notion of ‘the border’ (for him, a very real line of separation) and the emergency blanket, hoisted on its flagpole, stands in for the idea of nationhood and the imagined community (of which the artist finds himself both inside of and out). By situating himself alongside both, and adopting a range of postures in relation to these two objects, Tajik draws our attention to the social and political power contained within these symbols and ideas, but also to their flexibility as concepts. For the artist, the photographs are as much a biographical record of his own migratory journey across borders and into new jurisdictions as they are a political gesture about identity in a globalised yet divided world.
  • About the artist
    Iranian-Scottish artist Iman Tajik lives in Glasgow and has produced work throughout Scotland. Working across photography, video, sculpture and performance, his work examines how globalisation and migration are experienced by individuals rather than as systems viewed from afar. Tajik’s work is held in several public and private collections, including the Fleming Collection. His work has been exhibited in various group shows, including Unravelling Times at The Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow (2023); Scottish Landscapes: A New Generation show at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh (2023); and The Dreamers at Stills Gallery, Edinburgh (2021). In 2024, Tajik was the Cove Park artist-in-residence at Helensburgh in Scotland.
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  • Details
    Artist
    Iman Tajik (1982 - )
    Title
    The Dreamers I
    Date
    2020
    Medium
    The Dreamers I - photograph - on Foamex board
    Acquisition
    Purchased from the artist, April 2024, Art XUK project 2024-25
    Provenance
    The Artist; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 25 April 2024
    GAC number
    19336/1