Mixed-media medicine

by Sholem Krishtalka

The hospital is one of those places with which nearly everyone has some kind of experiential tie. As such, it is the perfect place to house an in-site art show. That, at least, is the idea behind Hôpital, a large new installation project. The show's the brainchild of artists Shelly Low, Susie Major, Marcus Miller and Mindy Yan Miller, and is sponsored by the Articule gallery. Twenty local artists have set up site-specific installations at the old Hopital Bellechasse, with results that are surreal in the best sense of the word.

Given the emotionally loaded nature of hospitals, most of the installations deal with its various emotional, physical and psychic implications. Common and recurring themes and investigations here deal with suffering, fragility, mortality, grief, privacy (or lack thereof) and humiliation, and of course disease and convalescence. The artists' approaches to the subjects are as varied as the themes: some installations are whimsical, some are subtle and poetic, others are in-your-face. While the quality of the installations is at times uneven, there is a powerful, undeniable, and ultimately very moving sense of humanity in this singular project. Hôpital shows at the Hopital Bellechase (3950 Bellechase) through June 17.

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