Iman Tajik

This is Not Now for Me

This is Now Not for Me

Iman Tajik, 2020
This is Now Not for Me is a series of performative photographs by Iman Tajik, commissioned by ArtReach for Journeys Festival International 2020. Developed in direct response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the work reflects on the sudden restrictions placed on everyday life across the world.

The feeling of being “stuck” became the catalyst for the series. Tajik draws a parallel between the temporary lockdowns of the pandemic and the ongoing realities faced by migrants and refugees, whose movements are constrained not by a virus but by borders, bureaucracy, and political systems. Through staged and carefully composed photographs, the work captures both the frustration of confinement and the resilience of those who endure it.

Using his own body within the work, Tajik invites audiences to reflect on the structures—social, political, and geographical—that determine who has the right to move freely and who does not. The photographs encourage viewers to extend their personal understanding of restricted movement into a deeper awareness of displacement, exclusion, and the urgent need for solidarity.

Anchored in Tajik’s wider practice, This is Now Not for Me demonstrates his commitment to confronting barriers and boundaries imposed in favour of some but not all. The work underscores the importance of resistance and insists on freedom of movement as a fundamental human right.