Narcissi
36x30
Oil on Linen
2022
Purchased with funds donated by Senta Ross, Kitchener, in honour of Shirley Madill, Executive Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery (2011-present), 2022.
در پیکر باغ شکل نرگس
چشمی است که ریخته ست مژگان
silhouettes of Narcissi in the garden’s body
like eyes that cried out their lashes
کور از روشنی مشعل نرگس بیند
هرچه در خاطر موری گذرد در شب تار
The blind in Narcissi’s torchlight
Sees what crosses the ant’s mind
In the blur of the night
Narcissus is a genus of spring flowering perennial plants more commonly known in Canada as daffodils. The genus was well-known in ancient civilization as well, both medicinally and botanically. The species are native to areas of North Africa and southern Europe and evidence suggests bulbs were introduced into the Far East prior to the tenth century.
In the West, the narcissus is perceived as a symbol of vanity, while in the East it is seen as a symbol of wealth and good fortune. In Persian literature, however, the narcissus is a symbol of beautiful eyes. Some people associate the blooms with being unlucky because they hang their heads, whereas white narcissi in particular are often linked with death and planted near tombs.
Amerian is interested in the varying symbolism of the same flower across disparate geographies and times, and here invokes the Greek mythological reading of vanity with a figure falling for one’s own reflection.
Part of S.O.S: A Story of Survival, Part I- The Image, at the Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, 8 Oct 2022- 22 Jan 2023. Description courtesy of KWAG.