Inspired by The Book of Kings, or Shahnameh, these contextually charged artworks suggest temporal linkages; a renewed, digitised interpretation of an age-old Epic Poem. Written by native poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE, the Shahnameh is the national epic of Iran and recounts a Persian golden age via some 50,000 ‘distichs’ or couplets. This work attests a preservation of mythologies and histories that here lend Dawes’ work an arcane and scholarly agency. Heroes suggests images of Persian warriors embedded in a flowing, ever-changing rock relief form.

About the music:

This composition is a voyage alongside the mighty heroes within the myths and legends that embody Iran’s golden past. The percussions build up anticipation led by a constant tease of the tombak gradually accompanied by the powerful marching calls of the daf. It’s time.