Upon a star studded mountain in the middle of heavenly oceans, there lives the Tree of All Seeds, sent down to Earth to cleanse the world. Surrounded by ten thousand healing plants, she contains the seeds for every plant that has been and ever will be. In the middle of these ten thousand plants lives the Queen of all healing plants, holding within her the elixir of life.
Surrounding the tree, swim the 'Kara bird-fish' who ward off bad energy threatening the Tree. High above them all, lives the storytelling hoopoe bird-fish, ready to be our guide on the adventure that is the tale of The Tree of all Seeds'.
An ancient creature named Simurgh, part dog, part phoenix-like bird, lives on the lofty branches of this tree. She's a mother, a nurturer, powerful and kind; she contains knowledge and powers of healing. As she lands in the branches to nest, she flaps her wings and ripened seeds fall to the ground.
Meanwhile, another ancient creature named Chamrosh, part eagle, part dog, gathers the falling seeds. He is a protector, charged with the safekeeping of the land. He distributes the seeds, carrying them into clouds which rain down over the world, and so the earth is planted.
In this new body of work, Shirin - from Nizami's epic tale of 'Khosrow and Shirin' - is the protagonist in a world that has existed long before her: She rides on Chamrosh's back to help sprinkle the seeds. Here she is placed in a re-writing of the ancient Persian myth of The Tree of all Seeds'. Taking inspiration from different versions of this myth, this story has blossomed into a new tale with new seeds to sow.
This new collection mirrors the contemporary need to fight against climate change and, like Shirin, to join forces with all the creatures of the earth in a venture to re-plant our planet.
