Gigantic tapestries woven with colourful patterns greet visitors entering the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, currently showing The Weight of the World, Etel Adnan’s first solo exhibition in the UK.

Early drawings, painted ceramics, woven textiles and calligraphies were gathered to create this exhibition comprised of explosive hues. Adnan is also an essayist and a poet; these works alongside her Arabic calligraphy are written onto accordion-folded sketchbooks and splashed with watercolour. The Lebanon-born artist is known for creating art with sociopolitical underpinnings that depict her abhorrence of war. But in her work little is morbid or dark; for Adnan, colour is a sign that life exists.

We loved the bright compositions of misty sunsets and we loved that the works were curated chronologically, showing the transformations and evolvements of Adnan’s work. The world for Adnan may be heavy, a burden to bear, but she splashes it with vitality, radiance, colour and zest – fitting for a summer stroll through Hyde Park.

Text by Portia Ladrido

Etel Adnan: The Weight of the World is now on at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery 20 June – 11 September 2016. Find out more at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery.