The Bhil tribe is the second-largest tribal community in India after the Marathas. They have settled in northern Maharashtra, as well as Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Bhil Art themes stem from an ancient connection with nature. Legends and tradition play an important role in the Bhil.
This artwork consists of filling their drawing with multicoloured dots in creative patterns. Famous names associated with these paintings include Bhuri Bai, Lado Bai, Sher Singh, Ram Singh, and Dubu Bariya.
Bhuri Bai is a native Bhil artist. She used to paint when she was very young. Her sources of inspiration included village landscapes and local festivals. She used to use mud to paint laughing goddesses and everyday scenes of her surroundings.
She used to paint huts and cows in a decorative manner after learning from her mother. These motifs later became prominent features of her work. Another well-known Bhil artist is Lado Bai. Her art reveals religion and belief.
The Bhil community is organised and animated by a supernatural power.
Jagdish Swaminathan, a well-known Indian artist, discovered both of these artists. Swaminathan admired the skill of these tribal people who worked as daily wagers in the museums and encouraged them to transfer images from wall to paper and canvas during his time in Bhopal. Lado Bai and Bhuri Bai are now on display in a museum.
- Swaminathan, a visionary whose contribution to tribal art is unparalleled. Bhil artworks evolved from mittichitra (mud paintings) to paper and then canvas.
Bhuri Bai has now begun painting on paper with readymade colours and will continue her work to adorn the walls of the Museum of Mankind in Bhopal. Lado Bai now works for the Adivasi Lok Kala Academy, where she used to paint images of local festivals, ceremonies, and animals on the walls. The Master was won by Lado Bai and Subhash Amliyar.
Artist and Protégé Artist awards were presented. The exhibition features their work as well as the work of a few of the other artists who applied for the award.
Bhil artists, mostly women, have only recently begun to gain international recognition. Their art depicts simple human joys such as birth, children playing, and other ceremonial occasions such as harvests that are often overlooked in our modern society. The art of the Bhil tribe, like that of other tribal groups, makes you appreciate the small pleasures in life. "We Make Image," a film about the Bhil tribe's journey through art, was recently released.
Their work is also being published in illustrated books.
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