Images that speak

Madhya Pradesh-based Gond Artist, Rajendra Kumar Unikey shares, “Since 15 years I am working on Gond artworks. We are from a small village, so we did not have scope to study more, and I studied only till intermediate. After that, I joined other artists, started working for them, I used to learn and help them in their works. After 4 years, I started my own works in Gond painting. Now, my wife helps me in my work.”

“Through these works we try to explain the reality and narrate old stories as well. This is a local folk art, and you can see tribal life through it. For example, you see people cooking under a tree, few people sacrificing a goat front of the tree. In our religion when we pray to God, we need to give sacrifice of goat,” he explains

A Gond art, unlike other folk art involves a lot of abstract thought and creativity. In one of his works Rajendra paints a colourful elephant, “I have drawn an ant inside its body; ant indicates that it can make a big mountain and if it wants can also destroy a mountain.” Another painting is of a human face in the form of a pot with fish inside it.

He shares, “It is mother’s womb from where a human is born, and after death he ends his life with a pot. I also added fish because in our culture, after the third day of a person’s death, their family makes fish to eat.”

“There are 20 of my painting here on display. It takes two weeks or sometimes one month to complete each work. We do these works on duppatas and sarees too. I used mediums like acrylic on canvas, acrylic on paper, tools like point brush and triple point brushes.” Rajendra adds.

What : Tribal Painting Exhibition (AADICHITRA)
Where: Paryatak Bhavan
When : until March 11 between 10am and 6pm

By Heena Mishra