This panel depicts a moment of transformation and transcendence, inspired by The Conference of the Birds, a 12th-century Sufi poem by Farid al-Din Attar. The bird, rendered in gold with flowing wings and a radiating tail, embodies a state of awakening—no longer in motion or resistance, but illuminated from within. It may be read as the Simurgh, a mythical bird at the poem’s culmination, or as the seeker who, through purification, has merged with divine light.
Shafina Jaffer
b. 1971
Nur-e Simurg, The Illuminated One
2020–2021
Natural pigments on barkcloth
158 × 78 in (400 × 199 cm)
Shafina Jaffer
b. 1971
Shafina Jaffer is an African artist who earned her Graduate Diploma in Art & Design and her Master’s degree in Painting from the Royal College of Art in London. She also received training at the Ruskin School of Art, the Slade School of Art, and The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in the United Kingdom. Having lived in several countries across different continents, she is currently based in Tanzania. Her work has been featured in numerous international exhibitions and publications.
Nur-e Simurg, The Illuminated One