the river is our mirror

River Mirror runs across the northern façade of the Albury Regional Art Gallery in a mercurial silvery flow. A small ripple in a river’s surface is magnified to a monumental scale to reflect the immediate environs and community of QEII Square.

The installation comprises multiple sections that fit together jigsaw-like in reference to the peaks and troughs of a ripple of water. Each piece is gently angled up or down to reflect differing aspects of the sky and ground planes. In the ever-transforming light of the day, seasons and weather conditions we see the vibrant reflections of the bright blue sky with wisps of white clouds, the ominous greys of storm clouds and the sun’s golden glows. These moods are interspersed with the flight of passing birds, the seasonal foliage of tree canopies and the passage of people across the square.

River Mirror encourages us to see ourselves in our river. It suggests a reflection on the complex inter-relationship between people, the built and natural environments and the river ecosystem.

River Mirror is a site-specific response to architecture, place, community and environment. The artwork responds to the architectural frame of the building to create a fluid mirrored sculptural relief. It engages and responds to place and community as it literally reflects the energetic domain of QEII Square.

River Mirror embraces the broader environment as it references the flow of the great Murray River. These layers of response are interwoven in a work that speaks of the intimate relationship between culture, community and environment.