In Crossing Waters, Thornton Dial confronted the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade through his complex manipulation of found materials. Remnants of white fencing enclose an aerial view of water, calling to mind the constraints of the Middle Passage. Dial conveyed the turbulence of water with the jarring splashes of color that also evoke feelings of anguish. Water serves as a metaphor within African-American traditions, often connecting troubling times to the promise of deliverance.