Etel Adnan

Impossible Homecoming

Impossible Homecoming is a retrospective exhibition of artist and poet Etel Adnan, whose life spanned nearly a century. Curated by Serhan Ada and Simone Fattal, the exhibition includes ceramics, carpets, leporellos, oil paintings, drawings, prints, and a film by the artist who “has mastered more than one medium.” Visitors can also listen to recorded interviews made with the artist at various points in her life.

The publication accompanying the exhibition includes the writings of the curators Serhan Ada and Simone Fattal, as well as a short text written by the artist Etel Adnan for the exhibition and an article titled About the End of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, the publication features Hans Ulrich Obrist's article titled Ever Etel, Jean Frémon's article titled The Worlds of Etel Adnan, Jalal Toufic's preface to Etel Adnan's Arab Apocalypse book, and Theodoros Terzopoulos's text titled The Colour of the Word. The publication also presents a comprehensive biography of the artist with illustrations of the displayed work.

Publication Date: 2021
Number of Pages: 215
ISBN: 978-605-4642-95-3

6 Foreword
İnan and İpek Kıraç 

10 Etel Adnan

12 The Impossible Homecoming
Serhan Ada 

34 Etel Adnan in All Her Dimensions
Simone Fattal 

42 Ever Etel
Hans Ulrich Obrist 

54 The Worlds of Etel Adnan
Jean Frémon 

70 Resurrecting the Arab Apocalypse Stop [The World]
Jalal Toufic 

76 The Colour of the Word
Theodoros Terzopoulos 

80 Catalogue

180 About the End of the Ottoman Empire
Etel Adnan

198 Biography
Serhan Ada, Patrice Cotensin, Azra İşmen

Etel Adnan

Impossible Homecoming was a retrospective exhibition of Etel Adnan, the Lebanese-born artist, activist, and poet whose life spanned nearly a century.  

Etel Adnan