Imam’s solo exhibition “The Past of the Future” highlights the humanistic approach to futuristic scenes and settings. Surreal images present scenarios and moments of pondering and dialogues in making sense of time as an element affecting the changes in the environment. In this exhibition, we are brought inside an arresting and evocative display of images drawn from merging reality and dreamlike scenes. The hybrid is of almost human subjects, which are immersed within these vibrant narratives. It is easy to get caught in a trance as the artist invites us to explore the wonders of nature represented through invigorating renderings of trees, skies, and life forms. However, Imam points us to the story at play, where we are asked to shift our attention to the transformation of nature as an effect of human intervention. Imam is reminded of the natural processes that the Earth experiences —water cycles, soil formations, and even natural disasters as part of the earth’s evolution. Thus, “The Past of the Future” launches a subtle commentary on the afflicting modern interventions, which force these changes to happen at a daring speed, away from their natural course. The exhibition notes our increasing disassociation with nature, preventing us from building our lives around it, which creates destructive results caused by what should have been the presence of “intelligent life.”

– Gwen Bautista