One of London’s most celebrated historic interiors is being reimagined through contemporary art this summer as Leighton House unveils From Water, Every Living Thing, a new site-specific installation by acclaimed calligrapher and artist Soraya Syed.
Opening on 30 July and running until 4 October 2026, the installation transforms the museum’s historic fountain into a living canvas where moving Arabic calligraphy, light, water and sound come together in a meditation on memory, spirituality and the universal symbolism of water.
At the heart of the installation, the fountain becomes a living canvas, where projected calligraphy flows across water in dialogue with the Hall’s stained-glass windows and richly patterned tiles.
Taking its title from the Qur’anic verse, “From water We made every living thing,” the three-minute work reflects on water as a source of life, renewal and connection. Across the fountain’s surface appear the mysterious Qur’anic letters Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād, inspired by the Hizb al-Bahr (The Litany of the Sea), a centuries-old devotional prayer traditionally recited for protection during journeys and times of uncertainty.
The installation invites visitors to slow down as calligraphy ripples across flowing water, accompanied by a carefully composed soundscape that creates a quiet moment of contemplation within one of London’s most remarkable museum spaces.
For Syed, the commission marks a return to Leighton House thirteen years after her solo exhibition Hurriyah.
“Rather than adding something to this extraordinary space, I wanted to create a work that grows out of it,” she says. “Water became the starting point for exploring the relationships between movement and stillness, permanence and change, and our enduring dependence on an element whose capacity to sustain life has always existed alongside its power to endanger it.”
The installation forms part of The Arab Hall: Past and Present, a major interdisciplinary project celebrating the centenary of Leighton House. Alongside Syed’s commission, the programme includes two further site-specific installations, a newly commissioned short film, an exhibition and a publication by Dr Melanie Gibson presenting new research into the Hall’s history and continuing cultural significance.
From Water, Every Living Thing runs until 4 October 2026, offering visitors a new way to experience one of London’s most extraordinary interiors through the interplay of heritage, contemporary art and Arabic calligraphy.
