A Conspicuous Object – The Maitland Hospital Curators Talk

Join Collection Curator Cheryl Farrell as she uncovers the stories behind the artworks in A Conspicuous Object – The Maitland Hospital.

Cheryl Farrell is the Collection Management Curator at Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG). Cheryl has an extensive knowledge of the MRAG Collection and has curated more than thirty exhibitions from the gallery’s collection including the touring exhibition, Lionel’s Place. Cheryl’s curating experience also extends to exhibitions curated from the private collections of artists and collectors and is the co-curator of A Conspicuous Object – The Maitland Hospital alongside MRAG Emeritus Director Joe Eisenberg OAM and historian and Dr Janis Wilton OAM.

About the exhibition

Built on Wonnarua land, The Maitland Hospital is a layered place. Ancient songlines are overwritten by a patchwork of buildings from across 170 years. Corridors are imbued with the fears and hopes of large numbers of people. The smells and sounds of medical care and treatments are ever present. There are good and bad memories. There are funny and sad stories.

A Conspicuous Object – The Maitland Hospital taps into these layers. Ten artists were invited to respond to stories about the hospital to capture the diversity of experiences, people and places of the Hospital. The exhibition will present both familiar and unfamiliar moments, invite reflection, offer challenges, and evoke the complex and layered nature of this object that has peered across Maitland since the 1840s. The exhibition will also highlight the ways art, history and health can intertwine to tell stories, offer distraction and engage community memories.

Artists include:

G.W. Bot

Linda Greedy

Oliver Harlan

Anita Johnson

Adrian Lockhart

Catharine Neilson

Susan O’Doherty

Peter O’Doherty

Peter Poulet

Lesley Salem

Exhibition dates -16 October 2021 to 6 February 2022

For more information about the exhibition visit the companion website https://aconspicuousobject.com.au/