Hossein Valamanesh

This exhibition is a collection of new works made over the past eighteen months.  I have found that shifting from one material to another and exploring different ideas is both challenging and exhilarating. 

Lotus vault, 2011, and two other smaller works were inspired by a special room in the Jameh mosque, a magnificent 12th century building in Isfahan, which I visited while travelling in Iran two years ago with Angela and our son Nassiem.  I came across a series of five vaulted brick ceilings and my first reaction was that there were similarities to some indigenous Australian art. I have reproduced these brickwork patterns in lotus leaves and in the smaller works in natural ochres.  The works allude to the universality of geometry and pattern.  I also thought about the state of mind of the builders of these magnificent ceilings. 

The image for In my mother’s hands, 2011, was found in my cousin’s family photo album.  Although I remember the photo from my earlier years I had not noticed the hands that stopped me from falling over. By colouring them I have emphasized the connections to mother and mother-land.

Passing time, 2011, is a video work made in collaboration with Nassiem.  The work is an image of my hands and fingers continuously forming and reforming the infinity sign. The black box with its well-like cone is an integral part of the work.  It allows the viewer to see the work from different angels and creates a sense of intimacy.

Hossein Valamanesh, 2012

My ongoing fascination with the written word is evident in this exhibition and I hope that the work here extends the conversation I started in my last show at Greenaway Art Gallery.

After my explorations with saffron and the word ‘love’ (eshg in Farsi / Persian) I became aware of the associations between text and colour - the yellow of madness and love. Life blood, 2010, gave me the opportunity to play with this coincidence. In Farsi text the word for blood (khun) and the casual expression for life (jun) are identical except for the position of one dot adding to the work’s ambiguity.

Guardian, 2010, is a collaborative work with Angela Valamanesh, inspired by one of her earlier works history, 1993. In that work she extended the back of a small wooden chair with white (plaster) branch-like forms. Next to it, on the wall, was a photo of her father as a boy seated on a similar chair. In Guardian, 2010, the extensions are castings of antlers and we have included the impressions of her footprints on the granite base. Three elements come together, animal, human and manmade. The viewer can imagine a person who is no longer there.

Still standing, 2010, is based on a poem by Rumi, which proclaims that the entire world is intoxicated. I have selected the second half of the first five lines of the poem because of their visual and rhythmic qualities that are unfortunately lost in translation. However, here is my attempt drawn from a small book of selected poems that I’ve had for over forty years. I have recently noticed that there are other versions with slight differences in other sources.

master drunk, servant drunk, friend drunk, stranger drunk,
garden drunk, meadow drunk, bud drunk, thorn drunk,
earth drunk, water drunk, air drunk, fire drunk,
spirit drunk, intellect drunk, imagination drunk, thoughts drunk,
song drunk, harp drunk, plectrum drunk, tar drunk,

I recall seeing news footage of a large group of women protesting outside the gates of Evin prison in Tehran where many political prisoners were being kept. These women were the mothers of the prisoners and they were demanding to visit their children and seeking justice and freedom for them. It is difficult for me to imagine their sorrow and anger. Patchwork quilts are made by mothers all around the world to give comfort and warmth to their children. Shades of green, 2010, was inspired by this humble craft and what I imagined these mothers wished for their children. The work is composed of a grid of patch-work using a variety of green fabrics that spell out the word ‘freedom’ (aazadi in Farsi) and the color green in Iran has recently come to symbolize an expression of the desire for freedom, justice and democracy. As there are many shades of green there are different ways and intensities of expressing this desire. Shades of green, 2010, is my expression of support and sympathy for the aspirations of the Iranian people.

Hossein Valamanesh
July, 2010

Last year I attended a residency in Aomori Contemporary Art Center in northern Japan where I had intended to make a large ephemeral work painted directly on to the wall of the Gallery. However it turned out that the surface of the wall was not suitable for this and I used sheets of paper instead to make the work ‘Practice’ 2006 which is now part of this exhibition. The word ‘love’ - ‘eshg’ in Farsi - is repeated over and over again. The process was two fold; the practice of contemplating the concept of love and the nuances of calligraphy. Saffron added extra flavour with its beautiful colour, connotations and aroma as I was writing.

I have used Farsi text in my work for many years. At times this has been generated by poems I read or the materials I collect. In the work ‘This will also pass’, 2007, the material prompted the beginning of the work. The Crown of Thorn used in ‘Touch Love’, 2006, determined the text and its language, English in this case, which I am using for the first time. I feel there is always an interplay between materials and ideas in my work. ‘Twins’ 2007 and ‘As I remember her’ 2007, return to ideas explored in ‘Homa’ 2001 and again use fan palm fronds and the image of plaited hair. I like the humour in ‘Twins’ - they could also be lovers.

I have always been fascinated by the way the image of a halo is represented in early miniature paintings. The light is more down to earth in the form of a flame. The last work I made for this exhibition ‘The beauty of Yusuf’ takes its inspiration from a 16th century miniature painting depicting the love story of Yusuf and Zulaykha.

Hossein Valamamesh, July, 2007

'Most works of art have within them the seed of an idea and the opportunity of exhibiting them may make it possible for these seeds to grow in the viewers mind with different interpretations. My original idea is only the beginning and I also follow the development of the work with interest. It is by our looking at the works that they realise their potential.

I do not wish to write about the ideas behind the work but would prefer to talk about the process of making them. In general I do not set out to do a particular show. The work accumulates over time and about 6 months before the show the gallery space becomes an important factor. The complementary or contrasting nature of the works is considered and I take great pleasure in arranging them to animate the space.

Most of the works in this exhibition were actually made over the past 18 months but a few of the images are from three years ago when we visited Iran. Images and materials are regularly collected and they have to wait for their turn.

Our portrait in 'On Reflection' was taken north of Tehran in the beautiful foothills of the Alborz mountains. Sitting by a stream a young Afghani man with a wooden box camera (as I recall from my past) took our picture. Not using any film the negative image was imprinted onto photographic paper and then photographed again to give a positive image. The negative image interested us both more as it appeared that light was emanating from within. The image for 'You become will earth' was collected from a newspaper in Tehran around the same time.

In parallel to projects and other activities and evolving ideas I look around me with open and intuitive eyes, be it in the front gardens of our neighborhood, the peppercorn tree in my back garden (which has come to nothing) or in Bundanon in NSW, collecting maiden hair fern leaves. These collected materials and images become the object of my attention and contemplation. Late last year I found a large broken branch of a white cedar tree in the street which I dragged back to my studio. It took a while before it could tell me what it wanted to be but eventually it grew from a central point to a complex connection of branches which necessitated its transformation into bronze. It became 'Fallen Branch'.
These collected materials and images have their own potential for becoming something else and this is realised by manipulation and arrangement. There are also works that start from an idea and the challenge is to find the right material and method to bring them to life.

The working life of an artist can be solitary which in itself is not a bad thing. I have been fortunate to share this time with my partner, Angela, and we have shared a studio for more than 20 years. Beside collaborating on major projects we have made some sculptural works and a number of works on paper together. Although she is acknowledged through the collaborative works what is not seen is her critical dialogue, advice and assistance for which I would like to thank her. Also I would like to thank Tim Thomson and crew for bronze casting, Catherine Buddle for assistance with digital manipulation of 'On Reflection', Gunter May for his advice and for making the wooden ladder, Ian Burdon who brought me the broken branch with the Jay nest and Minoo Momeni for permission to use the image for 'You will become Earth'.

Hossein Valamanesh, June, 2005