The Third Line invites all to attend Simurgh Self-Help, an exhibition presenting the latest works by the art collective Slavs and Tatars. This show reimagines the Simurgh, a mythical bird from Persian and Turkic traditions, through a contemporary perspective and will be open to the public until 4 April 2025.
The showcased works, spanning carpets, installations, glass pieces, and text-based works, are inspired by Musée d’Art Moderne – Département des Aigles (1968–1972) by Belgian poet and artist Marcel Broodthaers, one of the defining conceptual art pieces of the 20th century. This installation, featuring various representations of eagles labelled “This is not a work of art,” critiqued how museums impose ideological classifications on imagery. Simurgh Self-Help extends this exploration by juxtaposing the eagle, a symbol of nationalism and empire standing for conquest and dominance, with the Simurgh, an emblem of the mystical and otherworldly standing for the erasure of categories and unity with the whole.
The show comprises two sections. Gallery One focuses on the mythology of Simurgh, a winged creature said to have witnessed the world’s destruction several times. Through speculative storytelling, Slavs and Tatars present the Simurgh as a counterpart to the eagle, questioning notions of identity, nationalism, and power. By shifting Broodthaers’ critique to the often-overlooked histories of Central Asia and the Caucasus, regions shaped by the legacies of the Russian, Ottoman, and Persian empires, the exhibition reinterprets how symbols of sovereignty are constructed and perceived.
Gallery Two explores melons as vessels of knowledge, value, and world-building within Central Asian traditions. In this space, writing emerges on melon skins and book pages, while glass lamps and mirrors shaped like melons tell stories of the region through flora rather than fauna.
About Slavs and Tatars
Established in 2006, this Berlin-based art collective is dedicated to exploring Eurasia, a cultural and political landscape they define as spanning “east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China.” Their practice is rooted in exhibitions, books, and lecture-performances, employing sculpture, installation, and text to examine history, language, politics, and identity.
The collective’s works have been displayed in numerous exhibitions, such as the 5th Kochi-Muziris Biennale (Fort Kochi, Kochi, India, 2023); La Bataille des Fruits (The Contest of the Fruits) (solo) (Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France, 2022); May You Live In Interesting Times, The 58th Venice Biennale (Italy, 2019); Mirrors for Princes (solo) (Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia, 2015); and I decided not to save the world (Tate Modern, London, UK, 2011).
The collective has also presented lecture-performances at leading art spaces and prestigious institutions, including Stanford University and Yale University (USA), NYU Abu Dhabi, and the Royal College of Art (UK). Their art pieces are part of esteemed public and private collections, which include The MoMA (New York, USA), Pinakothek der Moderne (Munich, Germany), and The Sharjah Art Foundation, to name a few.
To get more information about Simurgh Self-Help, please go to the official web page of the exhibition.
In addition, you might be interested in exploring Emirati artist Shama Al Hamed’s solo show I Jump – Will I Stick the Landing? and The Life of an Itinerant through a Pinhole by artist and researcher Behzad Khosravi Noori.
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