SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.- Hossein Valamanesh has definitely left his mark on the Museum of Contemporary Art. In a grand act of self-portraiture, this Iranian-born artist has created a giant imprint of his forefinger laid out in earth and stones on the MCA's grass forecourt. This use of natural materials presages much of the content of his exhibition inside the gallery. Incorporating assemblage, installation, drawing and sculpture, the artist creates subtle and poetic works that connect his cultural history to his new sense of place in Australia. Elements of Persian culture and mystical poetry are often integral to Valamanesh's work.

The Exhibition Tracing the Shadow, on view until April 28, is a small but comprehensive collection of 30 works that surveys the artist's practice over the past decade. Valamanesh arrived in Australia in the early 1970s and quickly immersed himself in Aboriginal culture, living in the outback among indigenous communities at Warburton and Papunya. The desert environment was a familiar reminder for the artist of the dry landscape of his Iranian homeland near Sistan-e-Baluchestan.

Now based in Adelaide, Valamanesh has developed an artistic process of directly engaging with the fabric of the Australian landscape, tapping into traditions of environmental art and Arte Povera ("poor art"). He employs natural fibers with great finesse and a technical precision that is sometimes mind-boggling.