Idris Khan

(British, born 1978)

Idris Khan is a contemporary British artist. Working through a variety of media that includes photography, video, and sculpture, Khan's work is connected through his intricate process of layering multiple images. He often blankets surfaces with sequential images—either captured through staccato photography or through the frames of a video—until his work is a blurred composite, offering a condensation of time into a single point that fluctuates between representation and abstraction. “A lot of people in the art world hate to use the word ‘Photoshop,’ like it’s cheating or easy or something,” he once explained of his process. “I say bollocks to that—for me, it’s my tool, my paintbrush if you like, and lets me create my own visual language.” Born in Birmingham, England in 1978, he completed his MA degree at the Royal College of Art in 2004. Khan’s subject matter includes literature, personal and political history, music, and religion, specifically Islam, due to his familial ties. His works are included in the collections of prominent institutions like the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel.