Bio
Ali Eslami (b.1991) is an Iranian Artist based in Amsterdam. His work deals with long-term, practice-based research that builds and grows through speculative thinking and world-building.
His work engages and plays with temporal and spatial investigations of memory, human cognition, and emotions. Often results in the form of poetic engineering as journeys to seek the potential that lies in the blurred lines between the real and unreal.
His engineering background and passion for video games nurtured an obsession with cybernetics and computation and continue to build his curiosity towards the shifting roles of form and function that create virtual worlds.
Often utilizing various mediums such as VR, Film, Writing, Installation, and performance lectures. In 2016, his VR project won the IDFA DocLab Award for “Best Immersive Non-fiction”. and in 2020 the Golden Calf for Best Interactive at Nederlands Film Festival with fellow artist Mamali Shafahi for Nerd_Funk project.
Degrees
2010-2014 Bachelor of Civil Engineering - Zanjan National University (Zanjan, Iran)
Artist in Residence
2021-23 Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, (Amsterdam. NL)
[ Fellowship Prince Bernhard Fonds ]
2020 Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Guest resident (Amsterdam. NL)
2018-19 3Package Deal, Amsterdam fonds voor de kunst (Amsterdam. NL)
[ Coalitions: IDFA - Eye Film , Nederlands Film Academy ]
2016 Age of Wonderland, Baltan Laboratories (Eindhoven, NL)
Selected Exhibitions
> Line of Sight, 2023
Video Installation, Prints, Publication (22 mins)2023 Rijksackademie Open Studios, Solo Exhibition (Amsterdam, NL)
> A Stretch of Time, 2022
Film Installation (22 mins)2022 Rijksackademie Open Studios, Solo Exhibition (Amsterdam, NL)
IDFA Festival paradocs section, Film Screening (Amsterdam, NL)
> Nerd_Funk, 2018-on
VR Installation (5 chapters - 8 mins each)[ Supported by Nederlands Film Fonds, Stimulering fonds, AFK ]
2022 Sonar Festival (Barcelona, SP) / CTM Festival (Berling, GE)
Melkweg Expo (Amsterdam, NL)
2021 Patty Morgan Gallery (Amsterdam, NL)
2020 Impossible-bodies Festival (Den Bosch, NL)
Nederlands Film Festival (Utrecht, NL) [Golden Calf Winner]
Geneva International Film Festival (Geneva, SW)
CPH:DOX (Copenhagen, DK) / Ambulante Film Festival (Mexico)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Opendoclab R&D
2019 IDFA Doclab (Amsterdam, NL)
> ECLIPSE, 2020
VR Installation (20 mins)[ Supported by Stimulering Fonds, AFK, TETEM ]
2021 TETEM Solo Exhibition [Enschede, NL]
Dutch Design Awards showcase [Eindhoven, NL]
2020 IDFA Festival [Performance] (Amsterdam, NL)
> Sacred Hill, 2019
VR Installation (8 mins)[ Supported by Stimulering Fonds, AFK, Mondrian Fonds ]
2021 Geneva International Film Festival (Geneva, SW)
2020 Meta Marathon (Dusseldorf, GE)
IMPAKT - commissioned online Video Essay (with Jason Mohaghegh)
2019 Museumnacht Amsterdam (Amsterdam, NL)
Nederlands Film Festival (Utrecht, NL)
Het Nieuwe Instituut ,Neuhaus Artistic Research (Rotterdam, NL)
> False Mirror, 2017-22
VR Experience Interactive (video, performance lecture)2022 Sumac Space, Group show (Florence, IT)
2019 The Overkill Festival (Enschede, NL) / Getxophoto Festival (Bilbao, SP)
AMaze Festival (Berlin, GE) / Ambulante Film Festival (Mexico)
Galerie Cinema, Diversion Cinema Showcase (Paris, FR)
2018 IDFA Doclab Spotlight (Amsterdam, NL)
> DeathTolls Experience, 2016
VR Experience (10 mins)2019 Nexus Gallery (Melbourne, Aus)| Ambulante Film Festival (Mexico)
2018 Published online at Oculus Store | War on Screen Festival (Paris, France)
2017 Published online at Steam and Viveport | Global Health Film Festival (London, UK)
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (Montreal, CA) | Bergen Film Festival (Bergen, NO)
British Council South American Tour | Paris Virtual Film Festival (Paris. FR)
Sheffield DocFest (Sheffield, UK) | Kaleidoscope VR Showcase Vol 2
SXSW Virtual Cinema (Austin, USA)
2016 IDFA Festival (Amsterdam, NL) | Dutch Design Week (Eindhoven, NL)
> Snow VR, 2016
VR Experience (6 mins)2018 WoW Masquerade 24H West (Amsterdam, NL)
2017 IndieCade Showcase at E3 Expo (Los Angeles, USA)
2016 Todaysart Festival (The Hague, NL) - Mutek VR Salon (Montreal, CA)
> RECEPT, 2015
Single channel video (16 mins)2022 Utrecht down under, Group show (Utrecht, NL)
Activities
2020-on Program Advisor and Co-curator at STRP Festival (Eindhoven, NL)
Program Advisor at IDFA Festival (Amsterdam, NL)
2022 Jury Member Netherlands Film Festival
2019 Jury member of goEast Film Festival VR Competition (Wiesbaden, GE)
2018 Jury member of IDFA Doclab’s Competition for Immersive non-fiction
CPH:Lab participant (Copenhagen, DE)
IDFA’s Cross-Media Forum Participant (Amsterdam, NL)
2013 TADAEX Festival, Temp-Illusion AudioVisual Performance (Tehran, IR)
Selected Talks / Conferences / Workshops
2023 Telepresense Conference, kunstakademie münster (münster, GE)
Art in the Age of Metaverse, de Balie (Amsterdam, NL)
2022 IDFA Industry Talk, panel discussion (Amsterdam, NL)
IDFA Official Publication, writing commission on ‘Senses’ in new media
St. Joost Academy of Art & Design, Artist talk (Breda, NL)
2021 Hogeschool van Amsterdam - Multimedia Design - Lecture (Amsterdam, NL)
University of Applied Arts, Vienna - Lecture (Vienna, AU)
Netherlands Film Academy - Master of Film - Lecture (Amsterdam, NL)
MIT University Hacking XR, False Mirror Lecture (Boston, US)
2020 We Are Public Livestream, False Mirror VR Lecture (online)
Meta Marathon, False Mirror VR Lecture (Dusseldorf, GE)
Johns Hopkins University, False Mirror VR Lecture (New York, US)
MoMA Museum of Modern Art - False Mirror Showcase (New York, US)
The University of Denver, False Mirror VR Lecture (Denver, US)
2019 Eindhoven Film Festival, False Mirror VR Lecture (Eindhoven, NL)
Unpackaging 3Package Deal, False Mirror VR Lecture (Amsterdam, NL)
GetxoPhoto Festival, False Mirror VR Lecture (Bilbao, ES)
Mutek Montreal, False Mirror VR Lecture (Montreal, CA)
Sensorium Festival, Virtual Embodiment VR Lecture (Bratislava, SL)
A Maze Festival, Live lecture from VR, (Berlin, GE)
Salwa Foundation, VR Workshop (Amsterdam, NL)
The Hmm. Presentation (Amsterdam, NL)
Artez University, ‘Behind the Net’ Workshop, (Arnhem, NL)
Sharjah Art Foundation, Panel speaker at Sharjah Film Platform (Sharjah, UAE)
2018 Speculative Design VR Workshop, University of Applied Sciences, Master of Digital Design
IDFA Doclab, False Mirror VR Presentation (Amsterdam, NL)
2017 Tumo center for creative technologies, VR workshop (Yerevan, Armenia)
Forum Des Images, Why Virtual Reality?! Roundtable, (Paris, FR)
Royal College of Arts, VR Symposium (London, UK)
Sheffield DocFest, Join The Resistance Panel (Sheffield, UK)
Tehran ACM Siggraph, VR Production Workflow Workshop (Tehran, Iran)
2016 Artez University, VR Masterclass (3 Days) (Arnhem, NL)
IDFA Doclab, Interactive Conference Talk (Amsterdam, NL)
Dutch Design Week, Advanced VR Development and Design (Eindhoven, NL)
Dutch Design Week, VR as new Medium, Workshop (Eindhoven, NL)
STRP Scene, Introduction to VR (Eindhoven, NL)
VPRO Medialab’s Meet the Makers (The Hague, NL)
2014 Expanded Reality Presentation, Re-Shape Tehran (Tehran, Iran)