Serpentine announces Amar Kanwar Exhibition

Acclaimed Indian filmmaker and artist to unveil ambitious multi-screen works at Serpentine North in autumn 2026

Serpentine has announced a major solo exhibition by celebrated New Delhi-based artist and filmmaker Amar Kanwar, marking one of the most significant UK presentations of his work to date.

Opening at Serpentine North on 23 September 2026 and running until 31 January 2027, the exhibition will bring together several of Kanwar’s most acclaimed film installations alongside the world premiere of a new seven-screen work, The Charcoal Man.

Widely regarded as one of the leading voices in moving image art, Kanwar has spent more than two decades creating poetic, politically charged works exploring memory, displacement, violence and justice across the Indian subcontinent.

The exhibition will centre on a trilogy of immersive works including the feature-length film Such a Morning, the seven-screen installation The Peacock’s Graveyard and the newly commissioned The Charcoal Man.

Kanwar described the new project as emerging from a period of deep reflection and collaboration.

“I am grateful to Serpentine for this very special invitation,” he said.

“I am also deeply grateful to a small set of friends who have helped me make these film installations. Everyone has shared a part of themselves while making this possible.”

Bettina Korek and Hans Ulrich Obrist praised Kanwar as “one of the singular voices of our time”, highlighting his ability to merge political, ecological and philosophical concerns through film.

The exhibition opens with The Peacock’s Graveyard, originally commissioned for the Sharjah Biennial 15 and now being shown in London for the first time.

Meanwhile, Such a Morning — first presented at documenta 14 — follows a retired mathematician who isolates himself in a darkened train carriage while compiling an “Almanac of the Dark”, exploring perception, truth and inner transformation.

The newly premiered The Charcoal Man continues Kanwar’s long-running engagement with the legacy of the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan, weaving together imagery, text and layered narratives examining violence, betrayal and collective memory.

Alongside the film installations, visitors will also encounter handwritten letters and projected texts presented on handmade ramie and cotton fibre papers created by designer Sherna Dastur.

The exhibition continues Serpentine’s longstanding relationship with Kanwar, which began with the landmark 2008 group exhibition Indian Highway.

To coincide with the exhibition, Serpentine will publish a new catalogue designed by Sherna Dastur, featuring imagery and texts drawn from the featured works alongside a major interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist.