A legendary bird was known to Persian speakers for thousands of years, even before the time of Zoroastrian. Fariduddin Attar portrays Simorgh as the distant king of birds in his famous book, conference of the birds. One day Simorgh drops a splendid feather somewhere in China, on learning of this, the birds decide to seek him. They know that the king's name means thirty birds. They know his castle lies in the Kaf, the mountain range that rings the earth. The journey is hard, it disheartens some of the birds and some were lost to seven valleys and seas, some of the pilgrims desert. Only "thirtybirds" made pure by their endurance reach the great peak of the Simorgh at last. They behold him, but there is no Simorgh. They realise that they are the Simorgh and that Simorgh is each of them and all of them.
Simorgh represents self awareness and the journey of the birds is self discovery through the lense of Sufism. It's an allegory on our search for self and the seven valleys are our common imperfection and follies. I have made a kite to represent this great story. The Kite is made of transparent TPU fabric with bamboo spars and has a wingspan of 140cm and 140cm long. Like every legend, while huge in meaning and shape, it's made up of smaller parts that are real. I have used the Persian wordplay "si morgh" which means "thirty birds" as used in the original fable. Simorgh Kite is made up of natural birds that we can find in our surroundings and each represents a human fault and the kite represents their leader, the Hoopoe. Each bird is beautifully embroidered and fixed to the kite. photo attached
Simorgh represents self awareness and the journey of the birds is self discovery through the lense of Sufism. It's an allegory on our search for self and the seven valleys are our common imperfection and follies. I have made a kite to represent this great story. The Kite is made of transparent TPU fabric with bamboo spars and has a wingspan of 140cm and 140cm long. Like every legend, while huge in meaning and shape, it's made up of smaller parts that are real. I have used the Persian wordplay "si morgh" which means "thirty birds" as used in the original fable. Simorgh Kite is made up of natural birds that we can find in our surroundings and each represents a human fault and the kite represents their leader, the Hoopoe. Each bird is beautifully embroidered and fixed to the kite. photo attached
For the first time I represent this immortal bird as a kite. Simorgh Kite is an artwork that mixes ancient fables with the Afghan craft of kite making. The art of kite flying is one whose roots extend back to the ancient times. The Simorgh Kite design hangs from the ceiling and revives this ancient bird through the craft of kite making. The flight of Simorgh brings serendipity and luck to those under the shadow of its magical wings. Simorgh Kite is the use of a simple craft of flight to rejuvenate an ancient legend of survival against the odds.
This artwork has been displayed in a number of venues this year
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