Babak Sobhi
 

• 1961 - Born in Tehran.

• 1985 - Began professional studio work.

• 1990 - Held his first solo exhibition at the Istanbul based gallery, Çizgi.

• 1992 - Took part in an international symposium organized by the Painting and Sculpture Museum.

• 1993 - Made his first short film YANKI (ECHO), a piece exploring the mystique of the rock churches in Cappadocia and the local community’s relationship with nature.

• 1994 - Exhibited his reliefs and sculptures at the Atölye Megaron.
  - Exhibited his work at the International Wood Sculpture Symposium organized    by the Municipality of Değirmendere.
  - Made his second short film ISTANBUL ISTANBUL. This screened at the 1st Interdisciplinary Arts Festival ‘Oh, Wonderful Istanbul’, an event organized by the Ministry of Culture at Istanbul’s Yıldız Palace, where he also exhibited a selection of sculptures and installations.
  - Held an exhibition of new work at the Enka Rönesans Gallery.
  - Made his third short film VE GÜNEŞİN KALBI KABARDI (AND THE SUN’S HEART SWELLED) for ÇEKÜL (Foundation for the Promotion and Protection of the Environment and Cultural Heritage).
  - The film was presented at the ÇEKÜL symposium ‘Finding New Solutions for Ecological Problems’ at Istanbul Technical University.
  - Continued making installations in various places.
  - Took part in a project with a wood sculpture that expressed the sense of depersonalization in Etiler.

• 1995 – Took part in an exhibition at Istanbul’s Atatürk Culture Center organized by the Association for Contemporary Living (ÇYDD).
  - Made the short film JOURNEY about the life and work of Italian architect Raimondo D’Aranco in Istanbul. The film won the Marmara University Communications Award and went on to screen at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.
  - Took part in an international workshop in Datça organized by FIMA, the Austrian Ministry of Culture and Eskişehir’s Anadolu University. During the workshop, he made his film project POEM.
  - Began teaching in the sculpture and ceramics department of private college Akademi İstanbul, a project he continued until 1999.

• 1996 - JOURNEY was selected for screening at the Kodak sponsored Media Wave International Film Festival in Hungary.
  - made the short film MEDIA for the Human Rights Association (İHD) which was later screened at the Goethe Institut, Istanbul during Human Rights week.

• 1997 - Exhibited a selection of reliefs and sculptures in the grounds of advertising agency Cen Ajans Grey.
  - Made four large outdoor sculptures, two of granite and two of marble, for the Oasis project in Bodrum.

• 1998 - Translated a selection of work by Iranian poet Ahmed Shamlu into Turkish. The product, OVA BÜSBÜTÜN SİS (THE PLAIN IS A SHROUD OF MIST), was published by Turkish publishing house İyi Şeyler.

• 2000 - Made a short film in Persian, AND LOVE WAS A PRAYER, telling the story of an artist who lives inside a picture he painted.

• 2001 – Directed a course of film workshops for Istanbul based Bilgi University.
  - Made the short film SAYE about the shadow-filled nightmares of a shadow play artist.

• 2002 - Worked on restoring the façade of the Greek Consulate building on Beyoğlu’s main street, İstiklal Caddesi, repairing sculptures and reliefs. .
  - Returned to Akademi İstanbul to head the ceramics and sculpture department.

• 2003 – Set up a sculpture and mask studio at the Ekol Drama and Arts College.

• 2005 – Created SUNFLOWER, a 6mx3m sculpture of pink marble, in Diyarbakır.
  - Produced a giant SUNDIAL in Dağkapı Square, Diyarbakır, comprising a 20m² ellipse of different stones. The Sundial works with the human shadow.

• 2006 – Completed a ceramic relief of the GILGAMESH EPIC, 14 months in the making, in Diyarbakır. The relief is circled by a ceramic relief of cuneiform script.

• 2007 – Added to his work in Diyarbakır with THE TIGRIS and EUPHRATES, a 6.5mx2m beige marble sculpture of two intertwined doves symbolizing Mesopotamia.
   

Man and woman, the inner world of the individual, a sense of the past and the imaginary make up the principal themes of Babek Sobhi’s work.