From the Mountains, on view at Rossi & Rossi Hollywood Road, Hong Kong, from 16 July to 27 August 2021, showcases a selection of sculpted heads from Gandhara created between the fourth and fifth centuries AD. These works were fashioned from clay and embellished with painted details, each one revealing a distinctive expression, hairstyle and facial features. The soft nature of the clay made these incredible details possible to mould; however, it also left the works vulnerable to erosion. As a result, many of the sculptures in the exhibition have a timeworn appearance, yet the range of emotions emanating from the lively faces remains palpable. Alongside the Gandharan sculptures, a series of black-and-white photographs taken in the mountains of Iran by late renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (1940–2016) is on view. Kiarostami captured these wintry landscapes, titled Snow (2002), during solitary escapes into nature as a form of therapy, a break from the urban sprawl. He painstakingly chose his frames, at times during an uninterrupted 3,000-kilometre journey, activating his shutter only three times during the entire trip. Through the gaze of his camera, Kiarostami offered a contemplation on nature, encased in its tranquillity and divorced from the actualities of everyday life.

Gallery address: Hollywood Road G/F, 195 Hollywood Road Sheung Wan