Let there be sight!

During a rare residency at an eye hospital, an artist learns the art of seeing and not just looking

- ANJULY MATHAI

London-based artist Stuart Robertson was feeling like a bridegroom at an Indian wedding when I spoke with him over Zoom. All around him there was the chaos of artworks getting packed and moved in preparation for his exhibition at Bikaner House earlier this month.

"Everyone's running around while I'm just sitting here like a stuffed shirt," he smiles. "Indians really know how to organise a function. It's amazing how they take over. I feel like I'm caught up in a tidal wave. Or an Indian wedding." It all began a few years ago when Robertson sold two large watercolours to an eye surgeon working at Dr Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital in Delhi. When he gave the proceeds of the sale back to the hospital, he was invited to spend time there interacting with the doctors, nurses, patients and support staff. This turned into an 18-month residency in the hospital when Robertson witnessed a kaleidoscope of emotions-anxiety, fear, compassion-on a scale he had never before. "Someone told me that working in an eye hospital cannot have been very dramatic. But let me tell you-when you witness someone who can't see suddenly see for the first time in their lives, it is pretty dramatic," says Robertson.

During the residency, he produced around 280 pieces of art, most of which were exhibited at Bikaner House. Initially, he would observe people before drawing them. The first few drawings were "absolutely awful", he says. But he found his feet. When Robertson showed his collection to Dr Umang Mathur, CEO of the hospital, the doctor suggested that the works be exhibited in a show. "I just walked into Bikaner House-a highly sought-after venue-and showed my work," says Robertson.