Chehera: The Human Face of TB

It would be simpler to deal with tuberculosis if it just attacked the lungs and bodies of its victims, but TB takes an even heavier toll on the heart and mind of those who contract it.  In India, the stigma and isolation are symptoms just as painful as the coughing and emaciation.  The emotional toll of the disease is rarely conveyed to those who don’t experience it personally.  Last year, on World TB Day, ACTION Partner Global Health Advocates India worked with the Art for Change Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industries to bring 22 artists into firsthand experience with the human toll of TB and paint what they saw. The resulting ‘Chehera: The Human Face of TB’ Exhibition takes viewers on a emotional whirlwind through the horrors and hopes of life with TB.

“We want people to see TB in a whole different perspective. While government and civil society members are involved in the fight against the disease an entire section of the society remains ignorant and tend to generally brush the issue under the carpet,” Christo Mathews, advocacy officer, GHA India.

Indeed, the artworks give viewers 38 new connections with life with TB, and, taken together, communicate the emotions around the disease. See the Chehera PDF