The Finch
This is an image of the finch who claims to be too frail to go on the journey. My illustrated design of the finch presenting its excuse was created on Adobe Illustrator using a mixture of digitized drawings and vector graphics from the public domain. It reflects several key elements of the vanity of this particular bird. Firstly, the bird’s excuse rests on the idea that it is supposedly too weak to fly, “less sturdy than a hair” and “lacks … courage”. In order to highlight the vanity of that excuse, the finch is puffy and clearly in healthy shape—very capable of flying. This element creates tension with the feathers we see falling from it, which highlight its own perception that it is too weak to make the journey to the Simorgh. The background also transitions from redder on the right to bluer on the left, indicating that while the bird perceives a danger which creates a shadow of herself, that shadow is in fact large and is enveloped in a calm blue, rather like a clear spring day. In other words, the danger she must overcome is really an internal vanity, whereas the finch is very able to take on that challenge. A final touch I added was the open beak, which is a reference to the hoopoe’s line, “Sew up your beak, I loathe hypocrisy!” I tried to portray both the shortcomings in the earthly finch as well as her potential for divinity and purification when she finally takes ownership of her strengths and begins the journey to God.
Background music: Original composition for Santur by Danial Shariat.