Dubai · 24/09/2026
Katia Kameli: The Canticle of the Birds
A solo show by Paris-based French-Algerian artist and filmmaker Katia Kameli
Taymour Grahne Projects presents The Canticle of the Birds, a solo exhibition by the Paris-based French-Algerian artist and filmmaker Katia Kameli, on view at the gallery's Alserkal Avenue space in Dubai from 24 September to 10 November 2026, following an opening on 23 September. The exhibition takes its title and point of departure from Farid ud-Din Attar's twelfth-century Persian poem, in which the birds of the world set out across seven valleys in search of their king, the Simurgh, only to discover that what they sought was a reflection of themselves. Kameli translates this allegory into a polyphonic installation of ceramic sound sculptures — among them Vulture, Simurgh, Owl, Heron, Myna, Hoopoe, Wagtail and Dove — each bird given a body in glazed clay and a voice that emanates from within it. Alongside the sculptures, a series of watercolours set in ceramic frames, the ink-on-silk scroll Seven Valleys, the Aube watercolours on textile and the HD video Canticle of the Birds (2022) extend the narrative across media. Together they reflect Kameli's long-standing interest in translation, the circulation of stories between cultures and the ways ancient texts continue to speak to the present. The accompanying exhibition text is written by Lucas Morin, curator at Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai.
