Maryam Hoseini
Once Within a Time takes its title from the most recent film by Godfrey Reggio, the legendary experimental filmmaker who has long resided in Santa Fe. Reggio’s Once Within a Time (2022) intertwines fairytale atmospheres with apocalyptic landscapes, pursuing a form of storytelling that blends the fantastical and the mundane in a moving portrait of the existential condition. Inspired by the film’s circular narratives, the 12th International places storytelling at its heart, exploring New Mexico’s multilayered histories through the lens of more than ninety participants.
The exhibition revolves around a vibrant collection of over twenty characters—or figures of interest—with close ties to the Southwest. This diverse cast encompasses local heroes, mythical beings, unassuming residents, reclusive artists, distinctive writers, and charismatic healers. The biographies of these people—incarnated in a collection of artifacts, documents, images, and objects—function as catalysts for over seventy local, national, and international artists. Many of the featured artists have created new work that responds, directly or indirectly, to the experiences and lore of these figures. The commissions are shown here alongside contemporary works from around the world, offering insights into the region’s rich history and its artistic and literary heritage.
MARYAM HOSEINI AND WANGSHUI
The first major collaborative work by Maryam Hoseini and WangShui, The Demon and the Muse (DM) (2025) is a translucent mural made directly on the glass facade of SITE SANTA FE’s entryway. Rendered in oil paint, ink, and pastel on vinyl, the work refracts the sun’s rays both into the foyer and outward. Over the course of each day, light animates and transforms Hoseini’s contorted figures and WangShui’s tessellated, serpentine forms. Motifs from each artist’s visual lexicon remain visible in this joint commission: Hoseini’s flattened, fragmented, and abstracted figures; WangShui’s sculptural approach to light. DM also reflects the pair’s entwined conceptual concerns—hybridity, liminality, and the circuitous structures that govern and connect us. The project for the 12th International is inspired by their long friendship and endless conversations about life and painting under the influence of technology.
Text by Sophia Larigakis