Monday, February 25, 2013

An indigenous Indian tribe produces exquisite art

London-based Grosvenor Gallery is hosting an exhibition of wonderful Warli paintings.

Warli paintings are created by members of a tribe which lives in the Thane District, about 90 miles north of Mumbai, India. An indigenous tribe guided by their own traditions and beliefs, the Warlis are essentially farmers. Today, there are approximately 600,000 tribe members.Their name probably comes from the term ‘warla’, meaning a plot of land. They speak a dialect sans any written form. The Warlis are non-vegetarians. They are known to survive on the little livestock that they raise, supplemented by the activities of fishing and hunting.

One of the rare divinities to be represented is the goddess Palaghata, the symbol of abundance and fertility. Her body is composed of two inverted triangles - pala and ghata, the male and female. They symbolize the balance between the male and the female and also in the relationship between man and nature.

The main component in their art is rhythm. The incessant movement in their art is related to human activity in general. The reason why gods are rarely represented in their art is because they are generally manifested in the forms of animals, minerals or plants. Trees are very common in Warli paintings and depicted with great care, as the spirits particularly like to manifest themselves in this form of life.

The show is being hosted in association with Hervé Perdriolle, a known expert in Indian tribal and folk art. In 2003, he organized an encounter between Jivya Soma Mashe and Richard Long. This resulted in two milestone exhibitions, one in 2003 in Düsseldorf, and the other in 2004. He has contributed in the hosting of several exhibits like ‘(M)other India’ at the Galerie du Jour/Agnès B and ‘Show & Tell’ at the Foundation Cartier, Paris( 2011-12).

The show of Warli paintings will continue until March 1, 2013.

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