Knowing Where To Stand

Traveling Exhibition, Spring 2022-Spring 2024

Asher Imtiaz’ photographs image the unusual grace of neighborly kindness. But the visual purity and quiet of these compositions betray the complexity of such unlikely, often remarkable encounters. Talking to strangers never gets any easier, but Imtiaz is as well practiced in this skill as he is with exploring unknown territories – geographic and cultural. Since making his home in the American mid-west, his photography has embraced more fully this symbolism of border crossings. Unwilling to settle for just what the camera records, Imtiaz seeks to find common ground with those neighbors who also know the joys and sorrows of the sojourn. In this way, his photographs create much-needed space for these new friends – spaces to simply be; to breathe, rest, or grieve. It’s a mutual hospitality, receiving the concerned notice of a befriending stranger and returning it too. These explorations have not only offered him numerous fresh subjects but, more importantly, many formative friendships. In the absence of certainty, in the loss of home, amid the fear of what’s next, his photographs exercise the simple kinship of being there. Being present. Being seen. — Dr. Taylor Worley

A young man with dark hair and facial hair stands with his eyes closed, wearing a hoodie. His shadow, cast on a textured wall behind him, shows a crucifix, creating a visual contrast in the black-and-white photograph.

Shekib Rahmani - Tucson, AZ 2022.

A freelance photographer from Afghanistan who is published at several places via AP and AFP. He is one of more than 70,000 Afghans that were evacuated in August 2021. "It was very heart-breaking to leave my family, friends, my home and country and be alone in those dangerous moments." ... "I want to work here without fear, I want to study and continue my photography." Shekib was even taking photos in the last moments from inside the military plane, during the evacuation. "Inside the plane, I was very distressed, I didn't know where I was going, where my future would be. But I was hoping for a new start and for safety". From Afghanistan to Qatar to Virginia in the US, he ended up in Fort McCoy, Wisconsin where he stayed for 4 months. On November 30th, he was relocated to Arizona, and currently living there.

A man with short dark hair standing in profile against a white brick wall. The lighting creates a shadow on the wall.

Deen - Tucson, AZ 2022

Silhouettes of three people playing volleyball outdoors near a net against a cloudy sky.

Tucson, AZ 2022

A young boy standing in front of a woman at a doorway, with curtains and a curtain rod in the background.

Aline and her son Alex. Tucson, Arizona 2022.

"I don't want to forget my language." Aline and her son Alex photographed outside their house in Tucson, AZ. Aline's family from Burundi went to Tanzania as refugees. She was born in Tanzania and moved to the US when she was 17. "Struggle- that's the first thing I remember from my time there. We struggle too much. No food, no job, no clothes, no nothing. But we cannot forget. Some people forget where they come from." She is planning to visit Burundi for the first time in her life next year. "I have a lot of family but I don't know them and they don't know me." Talking about others from Burundi she says that "When they come here, they change. They want to be black americans. They don't want to speak their language. That's no good. I speak my language." Language of Burundi is Kirundi.

“The most political decision you make is where you direct people’s eyes.”
— Win Wenders in The Act of Seeing
A black and white close-up photo of a young person with a serious expression, wearing a hoodie with the hood up.

Promise - Tucson, AZ 2022.

Black and white photo of a woman with dark hair looking through a cracked glass window.

Milwaukee, WI 2016

A man holding a young boy in a dimly lit hallway with shadowed window light

Denver, CO 2016

A young boy standing barefoot on a carpeted floor, wearing a t-shirt with a Batman logo, in a room with sunlight streaming through large window. His shadow stretches across the floor.

Mawlid, Milwaukee, WI 2016

A young girl with wet hair covering part of her face, wearing a textured hoodie and a t-shirt, looking downward with a serious expression.

North Carolina, 2015

Clothes hanging on a clothesline on a porch of a house, with miscellaneous items on the porch floor including boots, a bucket, and a container.

North Carolina, 2015

A man with a beard and closed eyes holding a young boy with straight hair and large eyes in front of a building with a sign that says "Congratulations" in the background.

Lincoln, NE 2017

A woman with short dark hair and a floral shirt stands in a dimly lit room, looking down. A shadow of a person on the wall behind her is cast by a light source off to the side.

Lincoln, NE 2017

A woman with short hair and a serious expression, wearing a fur coat, standing in a dimly lit indoor space.

Denver, CO 2016

A young woman sitting on a leather couch, looking at the camera with a neutral expression, in an indoor setting.

Cynthia, Tucson, AZ 2022

A young man standing at the beach during sunset, wearing a Calvin Klein t-shirt, with palm trees, a pier, and boats on the water in the background.

Smith, originally from Haiti, Key West, FL 2024

A black-and-white photo of two women, one older and one younger, standing outdoors near water. The younger woman is hugging the older woman from behind. The older woman has curly hair, wears a light-colored jacket with a floral pattern underneath, and jewelry. The younger woman has long, dark, curly hair and is wearing a dark top. They are close together, with a large rock and water in the background.

Sorour with her mother, Milwaukee, WI 2024