Overview

Cheryl Farrell is the Collection Management Curator at Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG). Cheryl co-curated this exhibition alongside MRAG Emeritus Director Joe Eisenberg OAM and historian and Dr Janis Wilton OAM.

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.