Awakening draws upon the Sufi allegory, The Conference of the Birds (ریطلا قطنم), the best-known work of Persian poet Farid al-Din ʿAttar Nishapuri (ca. 1145–ca.1221). Amal Lin has created a landscape in two panels that depict the abode of the Simurgh, a mythical bird-like creature in the Persian tradition, which plays a pivotal role in Firdowsi’s Shahnameh (ca. 977–1010) and in later mystical texts. Simurghs are said to have immense lifespans, giving them ample opportunity to acquire wisdom and even divine characteristics. In the Shahnameh, the Simurgh acts as a loving mother to an abandoned human baby, and in The Conference of the Birds, the Simurgh is the focus of search for spiritual realization. The title of the work Awakening surely refers to this. Through adopting the color palette, materials and some of the conventions of Timurid and Safavid-era book painting, Lin joins other contemporary artists who use the format of ‘miniature’ painting to create dynamic and startling new works. She shows us that the symbolic Simurgh in its aerie is not as inaccessible as we may fear, but rather is always available to us.
Amal Lin
Awakening
2020–2021
Natural pigments and gold on hand-dyed paper
Diptych 15 × 11 in (38 × 27 cm) each
Amal Lin
b. 1992
Amal Lin is a painter currently based in Calgary, Canada. She began painting with watercolor and oil at a young age, and later was trained in oil painting under a master in Taiwan. Her interest in Middle Eastern art developed with her exposure to the Arabic language and calligraphy as an undergraduate. She later studied at the University of Jordan on a full government scholarship, gaining experience in the Arabic language, calligraphy, and aspects of vegetal ornament and geometrical design. She trained in fine art at the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London (now The King’s Foundation School), where she received a MA degree in Traditional Arts with distinction in 2021. Her paintings call upon the spirit and techniques of the Persian book painting tradition. Her colors and compositions are linked to poetic texts, depicting spiritual metaphors with intricate brushstrokes.
