Gond Art: Jyoti Uikey
Jyoti Uikey is a Gond Artist from the village of Patangarh in Madhya Pradesh. She is a self-taught artist, who discovered her talent and craft by watching other artists. Her paintings bring to life customs, traditions, and ancient stories of the Gond tribe. Her art also reflects her understanding of nature and life which mostly features human and animal figures. Jyoti Uikey feels extremely proud to be earning a livelihood through her art and help her family prosper. The artworks featured here in this issue have been created under the The Gondwana Art Project by CCDF (Craft and Community Development Foundation), India.
The Craft and Community Development Foundation (CCDF) India, is a registered not for profit social entity set up with the aim to support and fund projects that enhance livelihood for communities focused on the art and crafts sector. The Foundation takes up projects for upskilling artisans by introducing new concepts and design, keeping intact the authenticity of their art and help connecting them to new markets.
Jungle Devi (In translation Forest Woman)
This artwork is conceptualised on the folklore that narrates the story of the Baiga Adivasi tribe and their close relationship with the forests. The tribal communities worship the forests and its flora and fauna, considering it the home of their gods and divinities. The forest provides the livelihood and survival for the tribal community. The Baiga Adivasis worship the forest as the Jungle Devi for providing them shelter, food, wood, nature and everything they need.
Deer and the Bird
This painting illustrates two different worlds. It features the side view of a deer with its head turned towards the bird sitting on its back. The bird facing away from the deer with its head turned gazing the universe. Both of them are in their worlds thinking of things in the same way and that one could become the other.
The Elephant Tree
The narrative behind the painting shows: God created trees to help provide fruits for animals. But they were too tall for animals like deer on the ground to reach. So, he created birds like peacock branching out of the elephant’s trunk giving them wings to fly and reach the fruit and help the other animals on the ground to feed. It shows a world of symbiosis.
Gond art emerged from one of the largest tribal communities in India, the Gond people, who are originally from the state of Madhya Pradesh but are also located in other parts of India, such as Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The history of Gond people goes back almost 1400 years. Gond artists find inspiration and content of their work in nature and folk tales and myths; historically they used their art and music to record their history. Gond paintings usually include dashes, dots, lot of colors and are vibrant with a play of movement in them.
The Gondwana Art Project and CCDF
The ongoing Gondwana Art Project is focused on tribal artisans from the Gondwana Region in central India, practicing Gond, Warli and Bhil art. The CCDF selects artists for this project based on assessment of quality of work, talent, and current economic status. The objective is to create a platform for these tribal artists to present their work and their perspectives demonstrating their creativity and craftsmanship, introducing new methods and techniques that express both traditional and contemporary imagery and values.
Gond Artist Jyoti Uikey At Work
The project aims to ensure that the artworks are unique pieces of tribal art incorporating design elements keeping in mind a wide range of global audiences. During the project the artisans get an assured stipend and are allowed to freely express their skills and experiment with new techniques, design and color palette, while keeping intact the authenticity of the art.
CCDF has facilitated artisans to work remotely through online platforms and digital media, ensuring uninterrupted engagement with CCDF designers even during lockdown due to COVID. CCDF is attempting to sustain livelihoods of the tribal artisans engaged under The Gondwana Art Project, during these unprecedented times.
Artisan in focus: Jyoti Uikey
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