Walls Have Two sides, David Borrington and Aithan Shapira with Dr Aaron Rosen
Aithan Shapira and David Borrington met at the Royal College of Art in 2006 – both their work and lives have been informed by edges and boundaries. Their practice in seeing multiple perspectives led to the formation of a lifelong friendship. This collaborative project sees the two artists working together for the first time and aims to challenge our concept of walls. Borrington and Shapira write that “Walls have two sides, though we live in a world accustomed to seeing only one - at our homes, offices, hotels and underground stations without thinking what is happening on the other side”.
Exploring this idea Shapira and Borrington have built a wall installation whilst living on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
With Shapira living in the United States and Borrington based in the UK, the artists have each created one side of a wall - only revealed to each other after completion. Subsequently, working together in London they have completed the installation by making The Mending Wall.
In the artists own words “we build walls to separate differences rather than breaking them down to solve conflict”. This project challenges our notion of walls and what they mean in our lives.
David & Aithan have collaborated with Dr Aaron Rosen, Lecturer in Sacred Traditions and the Arts at King’s College London.