Tree of Life
20 June 2026 - 30 May 2027Our Universal Ticket gives you access to the full Living Art experience, including our Big Question seasonal exhibitions, The Living Area (the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection), our 350-acre Sculpture Park, and free daily tours. Entry tickets can be free, or you can choose to support the Sainsbury Centre through your contribution, which helps us to care for our collections, present world-class exhibitions, acquire new artworks, and keep art accessible for all.
Tree of Life by Seyi Adelekun is presented in the Sainsbury Centre’s East End Gallery across this season and the next. Woven from hand-dyed sisal rope, the tactile and immersive installation invites visitors to move in and around the tree’s central hollow trunk.
Drawing on multiple traditions, the tree emerges as a universal symbol of the interconnectedness of all life, personal growth, the cyclical nature of existence and acts as a bridge between physical and spiritual realms.
In Tree of Life, Adelekun honours the significance of trees as anchors of cultural memory, planetary health and ecological balance between the earthly and the divine. The work holds space for reflection, remembrance and reconnection with the forces that sustain life.
Tree of Life was originally conceived as part of KLA ART’24 Artist-in-Residence programme, an opportunity for a UK-based artist to take part in a residency at 32° East in Kampala, Uganda and the Stuart Hall Library in London, UK and participate in KLA ART’24 in Kampala, Uganda. This programme was conceived and delivered by 32° East and Iniva and supported by the British Council.
Tree of Life is part of the Sainsbury Centre’s What is the Meaning of Life? exhibition season.
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