This work has been produced in collaboration with Tom Jordan for the exhibition ’Seeds of Trees, Sounds of Mountains’ at the Aga Khan Centre Gallery. It takes us on a journey from the random pattern of seeds in a Petri dish to the constellations of the heavens. On the way, I explore the song of a Ring Ouzel by a fast-running mountain stream feeding on Rowan berries (Mountain Ash); the call of Snow Bunting on the summit of Ben Stack underneath an evening star (Jupiter); and a Skylark’s song on the crest of Helvellyn – the poet Shelly described this song as “a rain of melody” whose notes flowed in “such a crystal stream.” Another piece imagines the music of a high mountain stream heard under a clear night sky.
In this work I was influenced by the many and rich meanings of the word “Kehkashan” from classical Persian poetry, which, says Karan Sharma, ‘is used to describe the beauty of the night sky, the vastness of creation, and the insignificance of human life in the grand scheme of the universe. It serves as a reminder of the transient nature of life and the eternal nature of the cosmos’.
In a world facing a climate emergency, we need to celebrate wonder, and value nature as beautiful in and of itself – before it is destroyed by society’s greed and our extractive culture. Thanks to Esen Kaya, Curator, AKC Gallery and Geoff Sample.
Kehkashan|केहकशां|کهکشان: The Mystical Beauty of the Milky Way in Persian Poetry and Modern Culture