On Water 2017

Ayse Erkmen made this intriguing artwork with the help of some engineers, I imagine, in a city somewhere. Can you believe it? A temporary walkway just below the surface of a river connects two banks, so people can seemingly walk on water! I wonder what it felt like to make this. As an artist, there is that beautiful moment when the idea sparks and then the long, laborious process of making it happen. Erkmen has had to make it structurally sound and safe, while also keeping it invisible. The interaction of the people walking across is so nice. It is a bit like that old story of Jesus walking on water, or Moses parting the Red Sea – except it is real, and the miracle has been brought about through human intervention. It reminds me that all artists borrow ideas, and we are all having conversations with each other, whether we know it or not. It is a playful gesture, and a generous one, bringing people together in an extraordinary way.