Bhil artiste
Ref : bb99
Bhuri Bai, née en 1968


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Bhil artiste

Artiste : Bhuri Bai, née en 1968
Description : Bhuri Bai of Pitol was the first Bhil artist to use paper and canvas for her painting. J Swaminathan, the then Director of Bharat Bhawan asked her to paint on a paper, Bhuri Bai began her journey as a contemporary Bhil artist. That day, Bhuri Bai painted her family’s ancestral horse and was thrilled to see the effect of the poster colour as it touched the white paper. “In the village, we had to work so hard to extract colour from plants and clay. And here I was given so many shades of colour and a ready made brush!” Initially Bhuri Bai had found it a little strange to paint in a sitting position. But the magic of painting soon drew her in.

Bhuri Bai now works as an artist in the Adivasi Lok Kala Academy in Bhopal. She is a recipient of the highest award Shikhar Sanman (1986-1987) from the Government of Madhya Pradesh. In 1998, the Madhya Pradesh Government honoured her with the Ahalya Sanman.

Bhuri Bai also working as a day labourer with Lado Bai, had never thought that one day her life would take a new direction. She recalls the day when she had first seen Swaminathan. "A man with long hair came to us and asked questions, as to which village we belong, what are our rituals, to which god and goddess we worship, how we decorate our houses." She further says, "He offered us paper and brush to draw something on it. Everyone was reluctant, as we were afraid whether we would be able to draw anything on paper which we had never done before; also we would lose our day's wage of six rupees." She adds honestly, "At first I was frightened to see the man with long hair who was telling us to hold a brush and paper in place of a loader and spade." Their simple mind couldn't understand that this great artist wanted to make their art immortal, wanted to bring before the world their traditional art heritage, for he knew it deserved to be preserved and propagated.

The main pursuits in the paintings of Bhuri Bai are the reminiscences of Bhil's traditions and customs. Whether it is the delineation of any aspect of nature--trees, animals, birds or their mythical traditions--Bhuri Bai has made her own individual place.
Thème :

Vernacular India 2013