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  • Gond Art Tribal Vibes

    Gond painting is a tribal art form practised by one of the biggest tribes in India of the same name. The word Gond is derived from an expression in a Dravidian language known as Kond, meaning the green mountain. Though Gond art is perceived as exclusive to Madhya Pradesh, it is also practised in areas such as Maharashtra, Odisha, Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Gond art is ancient-The Gond people have lived in India for nearly one and a half millennia have practised this art form for the entire duration of their existence. Some sources suggest that the art form itself may be much older as the gonds could have simply imitated cave paintings made by their ancestors in the Mesolithic era.

    Image Credit - wikimedia Image Credit - wikimedia

    The gonds believe that all naturally occurring objects, such as trees, rivers, rocks or hills are inhabited by a divine entity and that they are consequently sacred. The Gond, therefore, make paintings of them as a way of showing reverence and respect. Viewed this way, the Gond art form is a unique but accurate example of the closeness between man and his natural environment.

    Besides nature, Gond artists get inspiration from traditional Indian mythology and folklore. Some painters focus on scenes from daily life and abstract ideas such as dreams, imaginations and emotion. The style is often categorised as a form of line art. When making paintings, Gond artists draw inner and outer lines with great care to achieve a level of perfection and detail that is bound to draw the user's attention. Dashes and dots are utilised to add a greater sense of motion and detail. Artists utilise vivid colours such as yellow, red and blue on and white. Dyes are obtained from plant sap, animal manure, coloured soil, leaves and charcoal. Brown and yellow are derived from a type of locally available sand.

    Gond art was typically applied as a finishing for newly built houses. But starting in 1980, talented painters transformed this ancient style with a new narrative and figurative ideas using various modern media such as ink, acrylics, animated film and silkscreen prints. Rich in humour, colour and mystery, Gond paintings effectively make use of modern media to evoke the primordial psyche.

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