Lado Bai Explained

Lado Bai
Birth Place:Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh

Lado Bai is a tribal artist from the Bhil tribe of Madhya Pradesh. Her work has been showcased in various exhibitions in India, France and the UK.

She lives and works in the Adivasi Lok Kala Academy, Bhopal.

Early life and career

Lado Bai was born in the Badi Bawadi village of Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh in the Bhil tribal community.[1] At a very early age, she moved to Bhopal with her family to be engaged as manual labourers in the building of the iconic Bharat Bhavan. She got married and continued to work in the building complex and also painted to de-stress after a day's work.[2] [3]

Lado Bai started her work alongside Bhuri Bai.[4] Her art reflects the spirituality and animism of her community.[5] For years, she could not pursue her art because of financial constraints. Her luck turned when she was discovered by the famous Indian artist Jagdish Swaminathan. Swaminathan encouraged her to work for the Adivasi Lok Kala Academy where she had the opportunity to transfer images of festivals, rituals and animals from wall to paper.

Bhil art

The Bhil Tribe are indigenous, being the Second largest Tribal Community in India. Art is Integral to the Bhil Community.[6] The rich texture of their paintings generally depict nature and Adivasi Style that is their legacy. Bhil artists are just starting to be internationally recognized. They paint the simple human joys of birth and other ceremonial occasions like harvests that are often forgotten in our modern society. The art of the Bhils along with that of other tribal groups reminds us what the simple pleasures in life are.

Inspiration and style

Lado Bai's works are characteristic for their formal simplicity, heightened by her use of dots. Nature, spirituality and animism find dominance in her canvases. She is inspired by the stories told by elders in her community, myths and rituals of the tribe and the flora and fauna she encounters in her everyday life.[1] [7] Bai creates art reflects the flora and fauna of her environment along with the customs and festivals of her tribe. Her work is informed by the timeless tradition of Bhil painting, portraying ritualized depictions of Pithora, the Bhil folklore god.

Lado Bai's inspirations came from the stories told her elders, and her personal faith that the gods will be pleased by her Art.

She belongs to a community famous for their ritualistic murals of god Pithora, a centuries old tradition that was primarily a man's domain. Lado Bai carries forward this timeless tradition while at the same time, developing in a strong individual visual language.[8]

Lado Bai is among such tribal artists who are keeping their traditional identity alive in their works and lives.[9] Her paintings reflect all the aspects of a Bhil life. She seems completely at ease while working with fine quality brush and canvas in place of a piece of jute which she would use before. Today she is working at Adivasi Lok Kala Academy in Bhopal and is contented with her job as an artist.

In Lado Bai's work, nature, spirituality and animism of her community are dominant themes.[10] With the encouragement and support of late Indian artist Jagdish Swaminathan, she has developed a contemporary language of traditional artforms. The main motifs in her works are the animal kingdom and Bhil rituals and festivals. Her works demonstrate an episode of a larger story from the folklore. "We prepare for a whole night before starting to paint. There are a lot of rituals that I have shown in my work, and this is exactly how the Bhil culture is," says Bai.

Awards and ceremonies

Lado Bai is the Master Ojas Art Awardee. The Ojas Art Award 2017, instituted by Ojas Art Gallery, was awarded this year to a couple of Bhil artists from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) 2017.[11] Lado Bai was awarded under the Master Artist category, winning a sum of Rs 51,000. She belongs to the early group of artists of this genre and was among the first bheel artists, besides bhuri bai, to have worked directly with J Swaminathan.

Family

For Lado Bai, whose family joined her in painting the canvas, the elements of the picture are drawn from the deep collective memory of her ancestors, which she has evoked in the Pithora tradition.[12] [13] She points to the peasants gathering harvested maize and millet, the tents and marquees of the marketplace, and the bullock carts laden with produce making their way to the bazaars. Her daughter, Anita, assisted her in painting murals.

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lado Bai . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405004242/http://bhilart.com/lado-bai/ . 5 April 2023 . 26 March 2019 . Bhil Art.
  2. Web site: 20 October 2018 . Folk And Tribal Painter Lado Bai's Lively Art Travel in India . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221014191734/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8QBEG4ZhMA . 14 October 2022 . 18 March 2019 . . Ravindra Koshish Art.
  3. Web site: 16 April 2018 . थकान मिटाने के लिए बनाती थीं चित्र, मिला राष्ट्रीय सम्मान . Used to make pictures to remove fatigue, got national honor . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221019103207/https://www.naidunia.com/special-story-women-make-picture-relief-from-fatigue-and-got-national-honor-1673636 . 19 October 2022 . 26 March 2019 . Nai Dunia . hi.
  4. Web site: Lado Bai - Bhil Artist of Madhya Pradesh . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211022135500/http://ignca.gov.in/divisionss/janapada-sampada/tribal-art-culture/bhil-artists-of-madhya-pradesh-and-rajasthan/lado-bai/ . 22 October 2021 . 26 March 2019 . Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts . Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
  5. Web site: 14 December 2012 . Bhil Art: Tribal Paintings from India . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230128025752/https://blog.saffronart.com/2012/12/14/bhil-art-tribal-paintings-from-india/ . 28 January 2023 . 25 July 2023 . The Saffron Art Blog.
  6. Web site: The Bhils. Bhil Art. 6 April 2019.
  7. Web site: Lado Bai . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170826211627/http://www.sutragallery.com/Lado-Bai.html . 26 August 2017 . 26 March 2019 . Sutra Gallery.
  8. Web site: Lado Bai . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20221014191728/https://www.saffronart.com/artists/lado-bai . 14 October 2022 . 18 March 2019 . Saffronart.
  9. Web site: Gulraiz . Saba . September 2010 . A Tryst with Art in Madhya Pradesh . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20111101141115/http://www.artnewsnviews.com/view-article.php?article=a-tryst-with-art-in-madhya-pradesh&iid=6&articleid=58 . 1 November 2011 . Art Etc (magazine).
  10. News: 25 August 2017 . An Exhibition that Explores Folklore and Mythology Through Tribal Art . . live . 25 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221014191726/https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/an-exhibition-that-explores-folklore-and-mythology-through-tribal-art/story-LT5Z1HnGROkR0u5a5YftrN.html . 14 October 2022.
  11. Web site: 23 January 2017 . Bhil painters win Ojas Art Award . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210118194711/https://sundayguardianlive.com/jaipur-lit-fest/8146-bheel-painters-win-ojas-art-award . 18 January 2021 . 25 July 2023 . The Sunday Guardian.
  12. Web site: Stephen . Sophia . Venugopal . Bijoy . Paul . Arjun . 12 April 2018 . At One Flipkart, a tribal art mural sets the office mood, and tells a proud Indian story . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230603012643/https://stories.flipkart.com/flipkart-office-tribal-art-mural/ . 3 June 2023 . 25 July 2023 . Flipkart.
  13. Web site: bhil art.
  14. News: 19 October 2016 . International folk art show opens Oct. 21 at PSA . N.1. . Green Bay Press Gazette.
  15. Web site: 12 October 2016 . A World of Folk Art Comes to PenArt . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211019033551/https://doorcountypulse.com/world-folk-art-comes-penart/ . 19 October 2021 . 26 July 2023 . Door County Pulse . en-US.
  16. News: 28 November 2017 . RMIT Gallery Explores Water Wisdom Across Two Continents . Targeted New Service . ProQuest.
  17. Web site: 14 March 2020 . Blending indigenous narratives together . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200315123458/https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2020/mar/14/blending-indigenous-narratives-together-2116582.html . 15 March 2020 . 26 July 2023 . The New Indian Express.
  18. Web site: 3 March 2020 . Ojas Art Gallery presents Merging Narratives . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727012236/https://www.architectandinteriorsindia.com/events/7776-ojas-art-gallery-presents-merging-narratives . 27 July 2023 . 26 July 2023 . Architect and Interiors India.
  19. Web site: 2022 . Lado Bai: The Early Years . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206194339/https://indiaartfair.in/programme/lado-bai-the-early-years . 6 February 2023 . 26 July 2023 . India Art Fair . en-US.
  20. Web site: IGNCA Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. 26 March 2019.
  21. Web site: Tribal . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190106042149/http://sutragallery.com/Tribal.html . 6 January 2019 . 26 March 2019 . Sutra Gallery.

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