A Century of Sight and Service at Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital -Artworks by Stuart Robertson
Curated by Ashish Sahoo Scenography by Zaarya Chaudhari
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘐𝘊 𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘗𝘌𝘕𝘚 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. It makes you stop and appreciate, was this art always inside us? 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 18 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐣. Not as some VISITING ARTIST, or some observer from a distance. He was fully embedded in the OTs, the waiting rooms, the corridors, the streets around Chandni Chowk. 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦. This whole experiment started because Stuart once sold TWO WATERCOLOURS to a Delhi eye surgeon, felt moved to give something back, and donated the proceeds to Shroff. That single act of generosity led to an invitation from our 𝐂𝐄𝐎, Umang M., to spend time within the hospital as an 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄. It turned into something powerful and rare for any healthcare institution in our country. Stuart is no stranger to India. He once worked as an artist for The Times of India, and that connection to our country runs deep in his practice. He worked across photography, drawing, bronze sculpture and cyanotype, images developed by sunlight. The photographs are almost entirely monochromatic, and there's a stillness to them that you don't usually see in documentary work. Surgeons, nurses, guards, trainees, gardeners. Every person and act of 𝐒𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐘𝐀𝐓 caught in an unguarded moment. What will strike you most is what Stuart saw, that this is a place where compassion isn't a value written on a wall. It's in the daily practice of hundreds of people, most of whom may never be seen or come to the foreground.The exhibition opens on 28th April at Bikaner House Centre for Contemporary Art, New Delhi, and runs till 2nd May. It's called Through the Artist's Eye - A Century of Sight and Service. If you're in Delhi, come. Some things are worth seeing in person.The proceeds of all artwork will be contributed to support sight restoration initiatives at Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital.
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