Iman Tajik: Freedom of Movement (2019) 

Iman Tajik’s two corresponding poster installations explored the ‘right to travel as a human rights concept, encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country, and to leave the country and return to it’.

Tajik’s work highlighted the 1951 Refugee Convention, a key legal document which defines the term ‘refugee’ and outlines the rights of the displaced, as well as the legal obligations of UN states to protect them.

This image contradicts the experience of many who have been forcibly displaced, who do not have freedom or a home. In keeping with the theme of ‘right to travel’, the artworks were installed on the National Cycle Network 77 by the V&A in Dundee, and on the National Cycle Network 7 by the Riverside Museum in Glasgow.

As part of Refugee Festival Scotland, we invited local audiences in Dundee to join Tajik in a collective flag making workshop and procession by the river, sharing messages of welcome and solidarity with people affected by forced migration.

The images were of a refugee travel document, the artists’ own. For Tajik, the bird symbolises freedom and natural migration as well as landscapes that know no borders.

Commissioned by Scottish Refugee Council for Refugee Festival Scotland 2019

Funded by Sustrans

Installed on the National Cycle Network 77 by the V&A in Dundee, and on the National Cycle Network 7 by the Riverside Museum in Glasgow

“The idea is close to my own experience, my struggle with movement… Movement is something natural and we always move in the world for different reasons. Any movement has to be protected.” Iman Tajik