Across The River, the  large tapestry by Mio Shirai which retells a perennial tale of crossings., symbolic or actual, on arrival in the gallery it was unfolded and tied with black ribbon then suspended from the ceiling. The curator and the Artist discussed how it functioned in dialogue with the Artworks around it. The richness of the image was to be a scenic device that pulled everything together in its multiple threads of embroidery.

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A scaffolding was erected and the Artists helped to secure its position. A colourful patchwork of shapes that captured ironically a classical landscape rendered in the off cuts of an upcycled contemporary moment. It initiated a series of routes through the space and acted as a centre of gravity for everything around it.

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Across The River gently guided visitors with it's magical waters flowing between a mountainous landscape, in Japan legendary spirits can gather on the banks of rivers and play havoc with humans. The day of the opening there was a distant and savage laughter cracking into thunderous sky, turning pavements into temporary streams and gullies. Who was now travelling across these waters, maybe an invisible boatman had come to transport the spirits of the sea and introduce them to a language of another place?"

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