Artists
Shirin Neshat, Sussan Deyhim, Ghasem Ebrahimian, and Shoja Azari.

Venue
Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, London N1 2XD.

Dates
6-12 November 2002 (no performance on 10 November).

Organised by
Artangel in association with
The Iran Heritage Foundation.

Box Office
Tel 020 7403-3331
Online www.wayahead.com,
or
Online www.unionchapel.org.uk,
or
Tel 08700 600 100
Online www.ticketweb.co.uk, 
or
Reckless Records
79 Upper Street
London N1 0NU
Tel 020 7359-0501.

Tickets
£16.50  (concessions £10.50).

Enquiries
Tel 020 7713-1400,
E-mail info@artangel.org.uk.

Supported by
Bloomberg,
London Arts,
Arts Council of England (Connecting Flights),
The Company of Angels,
Alireza Ittihadieh, and
Dasha Shenkman.

Introduction
A mass of people move silently through woodland. It isn't clear where they have come from or where they are going :only that they are on a journey. High above a quarry, the crowd wait and watch as a solitary woman sinks into a pool of water. Is she the legendary Simorgh - part-bird, part-goddess - from whose eggs the world was made?  Is it she who they are searching for? A synthesis of live performance and multiple projection, inter cutting seamlessly from stage to screen, Logic of the Birds is inspired by Persian poet and mystic Farid al-Din ‘Attar's 12th century masterpiece The Conference of the Birds, an epic affirmation that true enlightenment can only come from within. It tells the story of a flock of birds on a quest for meaning: a journey of hardship undertaken across seven dangerous valleys in search of their leader, the Simorgh. This ancient Persian text serves as a new point of departure for a group of contemporary Iranian artists all now living in New York. The group have collaborated on several occasions with Shirin Neshat in the creation of the cinematic installations that have given her work such a dedicated international following, but here they have come together in a different way allowing their diverse skills to meet afresh as equals. Within a specially-created environment, which transforms the gothic interior of Islington's Union Chapel, Sussan Deyhim leads the silent chorus – moving deftly between media - in a delicate alchemy of image, action, sound and space.

Created by
Visual artist Shirin Neshat and composer Sussan Deyhim, collaborating with their long time artistic partners, filmmaker Ghasem Ebrahimian and writer Shoja Azari.

Commissioned by
Artangel, Change Performing Arts, The Kitchen, RLG Productions and Walker Art Center.

Shirin Neshat in conversation with Rose Issa’ -  8 November, 12 noon, Bloomberg, City Gate House, 39 - 45 Finsbury Square, EC2A 1PQ (Free Admission, Booking: Nina Kreiger at Artangel, Tel 020 7713-1400, E-mail nk@artangel.org.uk).