In a break from decorating and moving my studio I went with a friend to see these two exhibitions at the Hayward. Yin Xiuzhen’s ‘Heart to Heart’ work is varied and thought provoking, while Chiharu Shiota’s ‘Threads of Life‘ is a visual ‘showstopper’.

I was a bit put off by the the ‘soft sculpture cities’ installation at the beginning of the Yin Xiuzhen exhibition, (reminded me too much of the things we made for school Storysacks), but the rest of her exhibition was much more engaging, charting her life of observation, explained with different materials and mediums. The massive set of images of clothes she had worn over the years, the memories and stories surrounding each one, definitely resonated with me. I also loved the giant ceramic pieces with little bits of cloth and ephemera tucked inside the cracks. In the ‘town square’ room with scattered chairs and chattering audio, I spotted a little boy sitting on each chair in turn until finally settling on one near the door, saying “Just right” (like Goldilocks).

Chiharu Shiota‘s exhibition is visually absolutely stunning, so beautiful, I just didn’t want to leave!

Yin Xiuzhen: Heart to Heart & Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life. Hayward Gallery, Southbank, London. 31 March – 3 May 2026. The gallery has a really nice cafe and ‘dangerous’ shop full of lovely books and things.