ZAHA HADID AT THE SERPENTINE

Hey guys, Eme here.

So Steph and I are trying out this new name for you guys- "Team 'Naala". I quite like it! Steph on the other hand thinks it's a bit sad that I'm coming up with collective names for our readers already. Anyways, we agree to disagree.

We decided to be cute last weekend and had a ‘friend date’ in London. After having one pancake too many [shout out to My Old Dutch ] we decided to visit the Serpentine gallery for an ongoing exhibition on the early works of  the late Zaha Hadid. 

Zaha Hadid was an extraordinary woman and renowned architect. Her architectural firm was actually responsible for the extension of Serpentine where the exhibition took place. The exhibition focused on Hadid’s early paintings/drawings prior to her first built structure.

Vision for Madrid, Madrid, Spain 1992 [Acrylic on cartridge paper]

The exhibit displayed Hadid’s ideas on interpreting realities and the arrangement of space. She utilized abstraction to express her architectural proposals in an analytical format. This, I believe contributed to the technological quality of her work. Hadid's early pieces were largely influenced by the constructivist art movement- a movement which called for the investigation of materials in such a way that would develop ideas which could be put into production to serve the ends of a modern communist society. Her paintings/ drawing envisaged the potential for some novel digital processes in architecture.

Irish Prime Minister's Residence, Dublin, Ireland, Isometric Plan 1980 [Acrylic, watercolour and ink on paper]

There are also a widespread aspects of suprematism in her work. She uses a lot of basic geometric forms as well as a limited colour palette  I found her manipulation of acrylic to be particularly impressive. There was immense precision in her flat application of colour as well as crisp representation of geometric form.

Blue Slabs 1983 [Acrylic on canvas]

Metropolis 1988 [Acrylic on canvas]

Hadid was definitely one of the most iconic architects of her time. She truly has set the pace for unconventional and dynamic designs in architecture.