North Gallery presents Conference of the Birds, a contemplative solo exhibition by Ronald Palmer, on view from 25 April to 16 May 2026 at the Association of Arts Pretoria.

Birds have long symbolised spiritual ascent in human culture, appearing in forms such as the eagle, angels, and the phoenix. Drawing on the philosophical depth of Farid ud-Din Attar’s 12th-century Sufi masterpiece The Conference of the Birds, this exhibition explores the enduring human desire to transcend earthly existence and seek the divine.

Palmer engages directly with the poem’s central journey, translating its allegorical richness into a visual language shaped by recurring symbolic figures.

He explains:
“Some of the birds are established characters in my work and each have their own meaning and significance. This together with the composite man aims to entice the viewer to a deeper looking and contemplation of self.”

At the heart of the narrative lies the Simurgh, a benevolent and mythical bird from Persian tradition, representing unity, reflection, and ultimate truth.

A passage from the poem reads:

“There in the Simurgh’s radiant face they saw themselves, the simurgh of the world. With awe they gazed and dared at last to comprehend. They were the simurgh and the journey’s end They see the simurgh at themselves, they stare and see a second simurgh standing there. They look at both and see the two are one. That this is that, that this the goal is one. They ask inwardly, they make no sound. The meaning of these mysteries that confound Their puzzled ignorance how it is true that we is not distinguished here from you and silently their shining lord replies I am a mirror set before your eyes.”