Gond Artist Durgabai and Shubha : A work on mythical tale

05 Oct Gond Artist Durgabai and Shubha : A work on mythical tale

Posted at 05 Oct 2021 in Current Affairs by Dr. Anshul Bajpai 0 Comments

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Context

Recently in the Kochi Biennale Gond artists Durgabai and Subhash Vyam presented their work on mythical tales . This pair is residing in Bhopal MP. but this pair has shown its work in various exhibitions before Kochi . In Kochi exhibition Vyams’ infra-project has added to the interactive spirit envisioned

These artists used walls as space for drawings and paintings in the interior villages of central India as Their ancestors traditionally used several years ago .

This type of painting is called Gondi Bhitti Chitrakala, a conventional fresco.
In this type of fresco, image should be installed on wall based or on marine plywood
This type of art generally reflects their tribal folklore. These tribal folklore are sung during various tribal festivals

About Durgabhai

She belongs to the Gond tribe of Madhya Pradesh and was born in 1972.
She is a first-generation Gond artist.
Her main theme of the performance is related to story-telling performances. In her starting career she did her performances from village level mainly in her own village Barbaspur (near Patan in Madhya Pradesh)
She learned bhitti chitra from her ancestors . Bhitti Chitra is a type of art of wall painting which is generally painted in mud houses. Gradually she decided to start creating her own paintings.
The kahani parampara or story-telling tradition was the cultural tradition of her village. Many stories, mainly old stories were painted on the walls like f the purani kahani such as junglee janwar, nana-nani, devi-devta. These stories were related to village folkere and associated with the life of Jungle
She used cow dung or lal mitti/Indian red soil and kala mitti//black soil
for painting purpose
First she paints wall through cow dung and then decorated with these colours
She also used ramraj mitti which is yellow and chuna or white clay.
Her wall paintings are called chowka and floor pattern or floor painting is called dhigna.
He wall paintings are are geometric, four-directional patterns
Generally colours are not used in such paintings
Some time at the village the paintings are made of a typical Mahua tree with its coveted fruit which fermented into alcohol, since villagers identified with the theme.
When she learnt wall painting she used various painting materials . In every size and colour he made paintings
She married to a Gond painter Subhash Vyam in 1989
Now both of them are associated with the tradition of Gond Art .
Now they are associated with other folk artists within the museum space of Bharat Bhavan
She started painting on paper and canvas for a contemporary urban art market.
The subjects of her painting include elements from her elaborate landscape scenery composed within a smaller canvas and therefore narrowed down to a few animals and trees.
Generally she used various themes for painting . These themes are rivers, trees, the bamboo plant, Diwali festival being celebrated, rituals such as kanyadan (giving away the bride in a wedding ceremony), houses and children, animals like the tiger, deer, stag or antler, peacock, bull, garden lizard, pig, birds sitting on the tops of trees while animals sit below.
Another significant theme Basin Kanya is her legendary work