It was the tragic suicide of Gond artist Jangarh Singh Shyam in 2001 that moved art collector Tulika Kedia to such an extent that she decided to revive the tribal art and help the talented Gond artists from central India. To provide a national platform for tribal artists of Madhya Pradesh, she recently presented an exclusive art show of Gond paintings in an exhibition titled ‘Tribal Contours,’at her newly opened Must Art Gallery in Lado Sarai. The show was curated by Dr Alka Pande, who commented that “anyone who sees this art will be automatically attracted to it. It is endorsed by the MP government, but the kind of encouragement these artists get from corporates is commendable.”
Tulika, director of the gallery, reveals that this is first-of-a-kind gallery where only Gond art will be exhibited, and collectors can buy paintings from this place without having to look around elsewhere. She says, “I am very fond of Gond art, and was deeply moved when I read about the death of famous Gond artist Jangarh Singh Shyam, who had to move to Japan for work because there were no resources in his own country. This is a small attempt to promote tribal art.”
She adds, “What fascinates me most is the fact that even though none of the artists were trained professionally, their work is worthy enough to surprise the world of art by its uniqueness and beautiful rendering. Tribal form of art has carved a niche for itself and is now referred to as ‘Jangarh Kalam’ to honour the late artist.”
The Gond art that was revived by late Jangarh Singh Shyam has gained popularity in his native village Patnagarh, and now his fellow villagers who learned it from him are using it as a source of their livelihood. The paintings at the exhibition are made by various artists, who are his extended kith and kin.
Dilip Shyam, a relative of the late artist is a Gond artist says, “A Gond painting is fine artwork that requires a lot of patience and might take a month or more to complete one piece. The traditional designs were originally made on the mud walls and floor with vegetable paints, but for canvases we usually use acrylic colours with rotary pens to carve the fine paintings.”