Kolkata: A bronze replica of Cry of the Hour, a sculpture created by artist Asit Sain after the RG Kar rape and murder and installed at the hospital by junior doctors a month after the incident in 2024, has been accepted by the University Artworks Group for display at the University of Sussex, UK.“I am m pleased to inform you the University Artworks Group has accepted Cry of the Hour,” Kevin Bacon, head of heritage collections and the Mass Observation Archive at the university, wrote to Sain on Thursday.The 18 inches tall 12 kg sculpture depicts the anguish and horror of the slain doctor in the final minutes of her life. The incident had triggered unprecedented protests in Kolkata and elsewhere, both in India and abroad.The Global Empathy Community (GEC), which spans several major international initiatives, networks and organisations dedicated to fostering emotional intelligence, social cohesion and compassionate action, viewed Sain’s work as a universal expression of the suffering of women subjected to heinous crimes.GEC had invited Sain to a conference at the University of Sussex last month to participate and display his works — 20 paintings and the Cry of the Hour sculpture.“Virtual School Australia and Global Empathy Conference founder and CEO Paromita Roy had written a play Cry of the Hour that was staged in Adelaide. On learning that I had made the sculpture, she got in touch and invited me to the conference. To have the sculpture now displayed at the University of Sussex is a great honour,” said Sain.
