From Water, Every Living Thing by Soraya Syed
From Water, Every Living Thing is a new site-specific video installation by London-born artist Soraya Syed, as part of the museum’s interdisciplinary project The Arab Hall: Past and Present. On display from 31 July to 4 October 2026, this new commission transforms the Hall's historic fountain into a living canvas where moving calligraphy, projection, water and sound come together in dialogue with one of Britain's most extraordinary interiors.
Watch a short introductory video with Soraya Syed
Born and raised in London, Soraya Syed is an artist and calligrapher whose practice is rooted in the living tradition of Arabic calligraphy, extended into film, animation, sculpture, performance and immersive installation. Classically trained in the Ottoman tradition under the masters Hasan Çelebi and Efdaluddin Kılıç in Istanbul, Syed is the first Briton to be awarded an icazetname, a traditional licence certifying mastery in Islamic calligraphy.
"Returning to Leighton House thirteen years after my solo exhibition ‘Hurriyah’ to create a piece for the Arab Hall is both a privilege and a joy. Rather than adding something to this extraordinary space, I wanted to create a work that grows out of it. Water became the starting point for exploring the relationships between movement and stillness, self and other, permanence and change, and our enduring dependence on an element whose capacity to sustain life has always existed alongside its power to endanger it."
Taking its title from the Qur'anic verse, “And We made from water every living thing” (Qur'an 21:30), the three-minute projected video explores the universal symbolism of water as a source of life, renewal and connection. Rather than introducing a new object into the iconic Hall, Syed's work activates its architectural heart, allowing the fountain to become both artwork and medium, inspired by surrounding inscriptions, stained-glass windows and celebrated tilework.
The film incorporates the sacred letters Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād, and the blessing Tabārak Ḥīṭānunā ('Blessed are our walls'), drawn directly from the Arab Hall's stained-glass windows. These inscriptions form part of the Hizb al-Baḥr (The Litany of the Sea), composed in the thirteenth century by the Moroccan Sufi master Imam Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī while crossing the Red Sea on his pilgrimage to Makkah. Recited to this day, the litany is traditionally associated with seeking God's protection and times of uncertainty.
At the heart of the work, the Divine Name Ya Ḥafīẓ ('O Protector') is written in a continuous circular composition. Emerging from and returning to the water, the calligraphy evokes the enduring relationship between remembrance, blessing and protection, while inviting visitors to experience the Arab Hall not simply as a historic interior, but as a living space in which its stories, prayers and symbols continue to unfold.
In 2026, alongside From Water, Every Living Thing, Syed presents a major international programme of work and a exciting publication. She participates in Homo Faber, Venice in September and opens a solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston later in the year. Her first monograph, The Living Script (Skira, 2026) will be launched in October.
Plan Your Visit
From Water, Every Living Thing by Soraya Syed. Runtime: 3:47 seconds
From 31 July to 4 October, on display in the Arab Hall at Leighton House
Upcoming public event: Embodied Script: Yoga and Calligraphy Workshop, 22 August 2026
As part of the interdisciplinary project The Arab Hall: Past and Present (21 March - 4 October)
Included with admission ticket.
Credits
Motion graphics design: Fabrizio Popescu
Live action cinematography: Bruno Miles
Soundscape composition: Zahra Zafar
Vocals: Tiya Bennani and Layla Sanders
AV: EMF Technology Limited
Acknowledgements
Supported by Cockayne Grants for the Arts, the DCH Foundation, the museum's Exhibition Circle and The Friends of Leighton House. The promotion and outreach for the programming of 100 Years of Leighton House has been supported by the CORA Foundation.
The artist acknowledges the generous support of the LaunchGood community in making this installation a reality, with special thanks to Hugh Monk.