New Routes, Old Roots

The Crossing is multiscreen, cross-disciplinary installation which tells the story of a young trafficked girl by means of a number of wrap-around visual and sonic layers which combine a simply told and shocking first person narrative, and an unobtrusive but very apt and effective soundscape created from samples of ambient sound, with director Shreepali Patel’s beautifully shot and meticulously edited film clips.

Occasionally reminiscent of the work of US film-maker Bill Viola, but less mannered and self-consciously artful in the well-judged use of slow- and reverse-motion, the collection of linked short films use a variety of techniques and tools in her filming, including drone filming, live action and vfx, and the presentation takes full advantage of the multiple and interconnected screens available in the visually very well-equipped Ruskin Digital Gallery.

Central to the narrative of the piece is the possibility of hope, renewal and redemption, following a harrowing account of the kind of exploitation and abuse which allows  this violent, organised, 150 billion dollar per year[1] tax-free industry to thrive.

The exhibition is being shown in the context of an increasingly complex climate in which public opinion appears to be becoming increasingly unsympathetic to migrants, refugees and also to the victims of trafficking, despite the fact that 21 million people are trafficked each year, of which a third are children[2],.

The Crossing was made with the kind support of Emma Thompson (Patron), Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University and produced by Colin Burrows, Special Treats Production. Dr Shreepali Patel is an academic,  BAFTA award winning filmmaker and co-director of Emmy Award winning production company, Eyeline Films.

[1]International Labour Office (ILO), Geneva 2014

[2] United Nations Office on Drug Crime (UNODC) 2014