SUFI MYSTIC POETRY VENICE

 For the 2026 Venice Biennale, practising Sufi Muslim artist Khaled Sabsabi has deeply integrated Tasawwuf(Sufi philosophy) into both of his historic exhibitions. Sabsabi reconnected with his Sufi lineage during a 2002 return to his birthplace of Lebanon, and he uses its concepts of spiritual transformation, repetition, and the interconnectedness of the inner and outer self to address modern-day displacement and global disorder.[1, 2, 3]

conference of one's self (Australia Pavilion)

Housed inside the Australia Pavilion, this immersive multimedia environment serves as a modern allegorical sacred space. [1, 2]

• The Sufi Text: The exhibition is directly inspired by The Conference of the Birds, a foundational 12th-century Sufi poem by the Persian poet Farid ud-Din Attar. In the poem, a flock of birds journeys through seven spiritual valleys (such as love, detachment, and wonderment) to find their divine king, only to realise that the divine exists within themselves. [1, 2, 3]
• The Eighth Realm: Sabsabi adapted this structure by constructing eight large video panels arranged in a hypnotic, floating octagon. The eighth panel represents his own added realm: wholeness and completeness of the individual self
  . [1, 3]
• The Multimedia Journey: The octagonal screens project a slow, morphing display of abstract, opalescent shapes resembling stained glass, geodes, and fractals. Layered within these visuals are video recordings of everyday life and community members from Western Sydney. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Sacred Thresholds & Protection: Visitors enter the space through fabric thresholds hung with textile door banners. Hand-stitched by a women’s group in Parramatta, these banners are inspired by ceremonial flags used by Lebanese Sufi communities. The pavilion walls are lined with Islamic mystical texts that Sabsabi calls "the script," meant to serve as spiritual protective amulets for the space. [1, 2, 3]

khalil (The Arsenale)

Located as the very first artwork greeting visitors at the entrance of the main international exhibition (In Minor Keys), khalil acts as a companion piece to the pavilion. [1]

• The Structure: The installation consists of a 40-metre spiralling canvas structure onto which Sabsabi's paintings are dynamically projected. [1, 2]
• Sensory Devotion: To mirror Sufi rituals of deep, meditative contemplation, the 48-minute loop engages multiple senses. It features a heavy ambient soundscape paired intentionally with the grounding aroma of black oud incense. [1]

The Core Philosophy

Sabsabi views creating art as an act inseparable from his faith. By leveraging the repeating patterns and chanting rhythms common to Sufi meditation, his installations function as "counterpoints to the disorder and uncertainty" of the contemporary geopolitical climate. The physical layout forces visitors to walk in a circular path—mirroring the sacred, circular circumambulation found in Sufi devotional practices—to turn a standard art gallery into a place of collective healing. [1, 2, 3]

Would you like to explore the 18-month political controversy that led to Sabsabi's initial cancellation and ultimate reinstatement, or are you more interested in his past Sufi-inspired works in Australia? [1, 2]

more on conference of the birds poem

The Conference of the Birds (Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr) is a 4,500-line Persian epic poem written in the 12th century by the Sufi master Farīd ud-Dīn ʿAṭṭār. It stands as one of the most significant allegorical masterpieces in Islamic mysticism (Tasawwuf), mapping the treacherous, ego-destroying journey the human soul must take to achieve union with the Divine. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The Narrative Plot

The poem opens with the world's birds gathering in a state of panic because they have no leader. [1, 2, 3]

• The Guide: The wise Hoopoe bird (representing a Sufi master or sheikh) steps forward. He reveals that their true king is the Simorgh, a mythical, phoenix-like giant bird who resides at the summit of the cosmic Mount Qaf. [1, 2, 3, 5]
• The Excuses: When the birds realize how terrifying the journey will be, they make excuses. The nightingale refuses because of its love for the rose; the parrot clings to its cage; the duck refuses to leave its stream. The Hoopoe patiently refutes each excuse, explaining that these attachments represent human vices—like lust, greed, material comfort, and pride—that block spiritual awakening. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The Seven Valleys of Transformation

To reach the Simorgh, the remaining flock must cross seven vast and deadly valleys. Each valley forces the seeker to shed a different layer of worldly identity and ego: [1, 2, 3]

Valley [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]	Name	The Spiritual Stage
1. The Quest	Talab	Stripping away all desires except the yearning for the truth.
2. Love	Eshq	Burning away rational logic; sacrificing the self entirely to a divine passion.
3. Knowledge	Marifat	Gaining intuitive, mystical wisdom (gnosis) rather than book-learning.
4. Detachment	Istighnah	Reaching total independence from the material world and its illusions.
5. Unity	Tawheed	Realizing that everything in creation is interconnected and part of the Divine One.
6. Wonderment	Hayrat	Falling into profound, wordless bewilderment at the vast mystery of existence.
7. Annihilation	Fana	The ultimate death of the ego; dissolving the self completely into God.

The Cathartic Climax

Out of thousands of birds, only thirty survive the final valley. Half-dead, exhausted, and entirely empty of ego, they finally step into the grand palace of the Simorgh. [1, 2, 3, 4]

When they look up at the throne, they see no king. Instead, they are presented with a mirror. ʿAṭṭār uses a profound pun in the Farsi language: Si translates to thirty, and morgh translates to birds. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The text reveals that the Simorgh is the thirty birds. By seeking outside themselves for a leader, they finally understand that the divine presence was within them the entire time. [1, 2, 3]

Connection to Sabsabi's Exhibition

This precise linguistic and spiritual epiphany is why Khaled Sabsabi titles his Venice pavilion conference of one's self. By introducing an eighth valley of "wholeness" across eight video panels, Sabsabi forces the individual viewer to walk the circular path and look back inward, reminding the modern audience that healing and collective leadership must begin within the self. [1, 2, 3]

1977 st pats sufi mysticism gnostic poetry Anne Galvin teacher more to come