As a classically trained manuscript illuminator, gold has always held special significance for me. Its association with light, and Divine Light in particular, makes it the perfect pigment to use for this landscape. This painting illustrates the ending to Farid ud-Din Attar’s epic poem, ‘The Conference of the Birds’. Thirty birds reach the end of their quest to meet the Simorgh – their King, a metaphor for the Divine. I have used gold to suggest a place that exists outside of time and space – a Heavenly realm. The lake at the centre of the painting is made from palladium – a silver-like metal that does not tarnish. It is used here to hint at a mirror, one that reflects the Divine within each of us, highlighting the central theme of the poem.
Ayesha Gamiet, Autumn 2024