Hossein Valamanesh is noted for transcendental and enigmatic works of art that engage with Sufi philosophy, ephemerality, and the intersection of nature and culture. Born in Tehran in 1949, he immigrated to Australia in 1973. Since making his home in Adelaide, Valamanesh has become one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists, at the same time developing an international profile.

The Samstag Museum is proud to present Char Soo, the artist’s first large-scale new-media work, as part of the 2015 Adelaide Film Festival. This immersive four-screen projection places the viewer in the midst of the bustling crossroad of an Iranian bazaar, to contemplate movement, human interaction and the passing of time. The ‘char soo’ or ‘four sides’ is also a metaphor for the country of Iran; itself criss-crossed by invasion and religious and cultural interaction for centuries.

This special exhibition is the fourth major Art and the Moving Image commission undertaken by the Samstag Museum and the Adelaide Film Festival. This year marks an evolution in the ongoing series, as exciting new partnerships with Carriageworks and the University of Western Australia Cultural Precinct will see Char Soo tour to Sydney and Perth in 2016 after its premiere at the Samstag Museum of Art.

Read the catalogue: Char Soo: Temporality in Space by Hamid Severi.