Artist and masman Patrick Roberts is holding another exhibition in his series focusing on glaucoma.
The exhibition, The Windows – A Conversation with Glaucoma, is happening during World Glaucoma Week, March 12-16.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness by damaging a nerve in the back of the eye, the optic nerve. Roberts has no sight in his right eye, but says this has not stopped his creative process, but has shown him the strength of his support system.
“I do more artistically than I’ve ever done. I paint, I design and build Carnival costumes, including a children’s band for 2024 and I’m actively working on designs for 2025. I write, I published a book four years ago, and I plan to publish four titles this year.
“I don’t say I suffer with glaucoma, I say glaucoma lives with me, and it has to pay rent.
"I used to think it was a life sentence but not any more. It affects my state of being in that I don’t have depth perception and everything is flat. My doctor, Dr Debra Bartholomew, is amazed that I’m able to paint something with perspective, considering what she sees in my eyes.”
He said his paintings in the Windows series tell of his journey with the condition.
“There’s one called Walking By Faith.
"You know we would have heard, 'You have to walk by faith and not by sight?' Well I understand that all too well now, and I also paint that way. I suppose I have things stored in my memory, so while I’m not physically able to see all of it, the subconscious comes to the fore and will fill those gaps.
"I told a friend I paint from the window through the window, which is the eye of the mind. I am using the gift of the ability to do art to help people to become better.
[caption id="attachment_1069603" align="alignnone" width="814"] Abundance -[/caption]
"For me, glaucoma is a life sentence, it is not a death sentence. It’s a sentence outside of jail.”
Roberts uses paint with pastels on a watercolour-based paper.
"I mix some different colours to turn the white paper into black, so I am painting from that dark side, bringing light to dark. So that’s part of the message also.”
Roberts said he has appointed himself as a spokesman against glaucoma, which is the leading cause of blindness in the Caribbean, and Trinidad and Tobago in particular.
“My doctors tell me I can talk about the condition from the inside out, while medical practitioners talk about it from the outside looking in.
“I’ve seen especially in Tobago, it’s astounding how many people don’t know they have it in some form or fashion, especially men, because we don’t like to go to the doctor. We need to go to the doctor for our eyes, prostate, teeth and our overall health.”
He said he also encourages parents to test their children for eye issues early, as glaucoma can be inherited.
“There are children with sight issues who have never been tested, and it can lead to many issues in later life. Imagine you’re the tall child put in the back of the classroom, but you can’t see, so you get called al
