WHAT?  Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life

WHERE?  Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

WHEN?  Now until 3rd May

WHY GO?  For an immersive experience. Weave your way through dedicated Instagrammers to discover why a complex shower of fine red threads creates such a buzz.
Japanese artist Shiota, born in 1972, is famous for her large-scale performance installations; after all, she studied with the one and only Marina Abramović, who was and still is an important influence.
This is Shiota’s first solo show in London and it’s strangely haunting.
If you are inclined to overthink, it conjures up suggestions of mortality, since the main installation of blood-red threads with jangling keys scattered throughout calls to mind connections. However, you could merely view it as a jolly bright red web of threads worth a visit for the sheer bravado of walking through and into the neighbouring gallery, where more red threads are pinned with messages suggesting relationships.
Finally, a dark den of black threads with white ‘sanitorium’ beds, symbolising nightmares perhaps, allows for gloomier haunting Insta posts. Shiota says each installation is borne from personal experience. All very profound and unlocking a key to art as we might not recognise it.

IN THE KNOW  See two for the price of one. Chinese artist Yin Xiuzhen’s large sculptural artworks are exhibited in the neighbouring gallery and guaranteed to attract kids. She repurposes textiles, utilising every scrap of fabric for intriguing artworks ranging in size from a tented dwelling to a small decorative tile. Bizarre, yes? It has to be seen to be believed.