Sarah Roberts: SICK TOO

Artist Sarah Roberts co-curates a selection of objects discovered during her residency in Cultural Collections, alongside her own works made in response.

Caring is part of the human experience. It is also specific to time, place and culture. Reflecting on caring causes us to ask questions about what we owe to one another, in sickness and in health.  

Inspired by her own experiences as a carer, Leeds-based artist Sarah Roberts, (b. 1980, Eryri, Wales) has a longstanding interest in these questions.

During her research in Cultural Collections at the University of Leeds in 2024, Roberts discovered a wide range of books, photographs, plans, medical instruments and art objects relating to environments of care.  

These conversations with our collections fed into her exhibition SICK (a note from 40 Sandilands Road and other stories). This new work was commissioned by the University of Leeds, and shown in The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery from April – July 2025.

SICK TOO uncovers the creative process behind SICK through Roberts’ own words and the objects she has co-curated from Cultural Collections. Items on display include paintings, historic images of medical implements and furniture, recipes for convalescents, folk remedies and books on hygiene, anatomy and illness.

Image: A Volunteer Aid Detachment nurse at Crathorne Hall, Yarm, Cleveland, c.1916. The Liddle Collection, University of Leeds Cultural Collections