The Heron
The heron is too enamored by the ocean to leave its side in order to pursue the Simorgh. The piece’s simple design encapsulates his single-minded obsession with the sea. He describes his love in terms of “jealous rage” and haunting the shore in desolation. His attachment to the ocean engulfs him, and so the sea occupies the main position in his silhouette. Mirroring how the hoopoe criticized the heron for loving an “inconstant tide,” the waves designed within the heron are tumultuous and violent. From the painted darkness of the heron’s depicted misery is a bleeding, broken heart. I accented his form in numerous, subtle chains in order to demonstrate how enslaved he is to the Self and to a lawless body of water that cannot reciprocate his love.
This composition was digitally painted in Clip Studio Paint.
Background music: Original composition for Santur
by Danial Shariat