At ESCRS congress, to be held in Barcelona from September 6-10, 2024, Eyes of the world and Alcon, with the support of ESCRS (European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons), are presenting a digital art project created by the contemporary artist Solimán López, where the gaze becomes art and art is transformed into the gift of sight.
During the congress, delegates will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive digital exhibition designed by the internationally renowned conceptual artist Solimán López who specializes in science, biotechnology, web 3.0, interaction and digital art. The sum of the gaze of the participants will become a work of digital art that will be exhibited at various locations, contributing to and extending the social impact and social awareness of the importance of visual health and the fight against avoidable blindness. To begin with the work will be shown at the exhibition IMMENSIVA at the Espronceda – Institute of Art & Culture in Barcelona from September 17-27.
Thanks to support from Alcon, a world leader in visual health, with more than 75 years of experience, the Gaze Machine project will help treat up to 240 people with cataracts in Mozambique as part of the cooperation activities carried out by the Eyes of the world Foundation in the African country. For each gaze captured by the Gaze Machine, Alcon will finance an operation to restore someone’s sight and help to reduce avoidable blindness in some of the world’s most disadvantaged countries.
The surgical operations will be carried out within the framework of the Eyes of Mozambique project. Over the past 20 years the Eyes of the world Foundation has been working in the Mozambique province of Inhambane using a model based on training local professionals within the public health system to ensure the visual health of people with deficient eyesight and limited financial resources. Funds raised from the Gaze Machine will make it possible for local ophthalmologists to operate on the most vulnerable population, most of whose blindness is caused by cataracts.
While delegates at the ESCRS congress will have their curiosity aroused as they navigate the fusion of art and technology, their gaze will become catalysts for change.