Simorgh: a self-portrait

May 23 – July 18, 2026
Reception: Friday, May 22 | 6 – 8 PM
Audain Gallery at the SCA
149 W. Hastings St., Vancouver

Wyldie Bracewell, Andrew Curtis, Alex Calcagno, Carlo Marchet, Chris Outten, and Taha Saraei

Simorgh: a self-portrait takes inspiration from The Conference of the Birds, a twelfth century poem by Farid ud-Din Attar. In the poem, all the world’s birds seek wisdom from the hoopoe, a wise bird they elect as leader in their search for truth. The hoopoe suggests they seek out the mythic Simorgh, the only bird with the power to access the divine. The journey toward Simorgh is long, filled with many hills and seven valleys.

Of the thousands of birds who start out, many make their excuses, settle down, get lost, or meet untimely ends. Eventually, only thirty birds remain. After passing the seventh valley, they learn to their astonishment that the figure of Simorgh is nothing more than themselves. Or rather, Simorgh – its name combining si (“thirty”) and morgh (“birds”) – is a shared self, composed of the many selves who were able to complete the journey.

Here, we invite you to explore the murky lands of those seven valleys in which these artworks reside – where we grapple with notions of selfhood, love, and dissolution, hoping that a common self-portrait may begin to emerge.