General Information

Artist: Chris Nelson

Exhibition Dates: 7 October - 15 November 2008

Free with Entry to the Powerhouse Museum 

Located in Cyberworlds Gallery, L1 of the PHM 

Background Information 

The Seven Valleys is an interactive 3D installation based artwork inspired by the Bahá'í mystical treatise of the same name. Created as a modification of the first-person shooter Unreal Tournament 2003 it subverts the game to create an experience diametrically opposed to the original intent and gameplay.

The Seven Valleys presents an exploration of, and allusion to, the often subtle and illusive concepts found in the treatise. The user is invited to take an experiential journey through the Seven Valleys where they are faced with conditions and situations which motivate them to question, explore and attempt to fathom the deep issues presented in the work.

Each valley contains its own mysteries while also telling a collective story.

Chris Nelson is a PhD Student at the Creativity and Cognition Studios in the Faculty of Engineering and IT at the University of Technology, Sydney.  He lectures in Computer Game Design, 3D Graphics, Animation and Multimedia at the University of Ballarat, Australia. He has had a long standing passion for art and 3D graphics which led him to study a Bachelor in Applied Science in Computing in 1987. After this he went on to work as a programmer while continuing his creative practice in painting, drawing, photography and multimedia. His interest in comparative religion and mysticism drew him to the Bahá'í Faith in 1993.

www.thesevenvalleys.com

Musical Acknowledgements:

Original concept and design by Chris Nelson

Music:
Gregorio Allegri, Miserere a 5 & 4, Cantillation, Antony Walker – conductor, from ALLEGRI MISERERE: Sacred Music of the Renaissance, ABC Classics 472 881-2

Healing Key, Tones for Chakra Resonance, Luis Miguel Trapaga, distributed by Spin FX Ltd

The Mercy Seat, The Best of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Mute Records Ltd.

Wildlife, Signs of Life, Penguin Café Orchestra, Virgin RecordsAdditional Music by Cameron Foal

Textures & Models:
Original textures and models by Chris Nelson
Additional textures and models from Unreal Tournament 2003, Autodesk and the mapping/moding communities
Celestial images from NASA
Arabic Calligraphy ‘The Greatest Name’, Mr. Saadatollah Monjazeb

Technical:
Unreal scripting by Evan Dekker & Chris Nelson