Etel Adnan: Weight Of The World describes itself as a collection marking the occasion of Adnanās first solo exhibition in a public institution in the UK, at the age of 91, in the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in 2016. The first part of the book pays homage to Adnanās polymathic career in a number of essays, prose and poems by artists and writers about their experiences of EtelĀ Adnan and her work. The contributors reflect upon their connection with Adnan and their thoughts about her extensive works both artistic, linguistic. While many of the contributors comment on her political writings and exploration of language in her art, all of the writings include how much energy Adnanās piece contain and how much they inspire other artists. As Hans Ulrich Obrist quotes Simone Fattal another contributor and close friend of Adnan: Ā āHer [Adnanās] paintings both exude energy and give energyā¦ paintings as pure energyā.
This is illustrated in the second part of the book which shows full pages plates of some of Adnanās paintings and drawings chronologically from the 1960ās to 2016. Colour and shape is key in her work and calligraphic style lines feature throughout her drawings. Oil paint, ceramics and illustrated screens feature as key media throughout the plates.