NO LOVE LOST reveals Hossein Valamanesh’s interest in the written word alongside his attentiveness to Sufism, resulting in an artwork with an open-ended meaning. The words ‘NO LOVE LOST’ seem to grow as twigs off a larger branch but are in fact cast in bronze. The work is mounted two centimetres from the wall, creating an echo in the shadow of the artwork — a nod to the double meaning of the phrase. Like many of Valamanesh’s works, NO LOVE LOST ponders love and human connection, leaving interpretation up to the viewer. The work could refer to the typical connotation of the idiom, indicating a lack of positive feelings between two people or groups; conversely, taken out of context and interpreted literally, the phrase could prompt reflection on the endurance and power of love.¹

Endnote
1. Wendy Walker, Hossein Valamanesh: No Love Lost [exhibition pamphlet], Grant Pirrie, 28 May 2009.