Untitled

"I tear my shirt with every breath for the extent of ecstasy and joy of being in love; now he has become all my being, and I am only a shirt".

These words by the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi form the shadow in the shape of a figure in this work by Hossein Valamanesh. Rumi’s words are painted directly onto the Gallery wall by the artist each time this work is exhibited, giving the work a distinct and discrete life each time it appears. The poem suggests that, by loving another, we come to understand our true selves. The hand-painted shadow, cast from a folded shirt, is intricately constructed from lotus leaves, with the leaves and the letters alluding to the artist’s Iranian heritage and underscoring the power of poetry, play and the passage of time for Valamanesh.

Born in Tehran in 1949, Valamanesh studied fine art in Iran before migrating to Australia, where he spent time in the Western Desert, including at Papunya, in the mid-1970s, before settling in Adelaide. Materials speak to and for Valamanesh and whether it is through his solo work, his collaborations with his partner, fellow artist Angela Valamanesh, or through his work with his filmmaker son Nassiem Valamanesh, it is the poetic speech of materials that takes primacy.

Dr Lisa Slade, Assistant Director, Artistic Programs