Dilliwalle

Bhajju Shyam (1971) is one of the primary living exponents of Gond art. He was born and raised in the village of Patangarh in Madhya Pradesh, which is known to be the home for the Gond Pradhan indigenous tribe. Starting as a tradition of decorating walls of homes with relief work and images during festivals, the artform usually represents the spiritual energy present in their surroundings.

Bhajju began his work by filling colors in the works of his uncle, Jangarh Singh Shyam - one of the first pioneers of Gond art. Over the years, he has developed his practice as a mix of both traditional folklore to stories from his travels creating a unique contemporary aesthetic of Gond Art. Shyam has published many books which have been released in five languages. In 2018, he was also awarded a Padam Shri, the fourth highest civilian award given by the Republic of India every year.

Dilliwalle (People of Delhi) (2019)

Bhajju Shyam’s work is a fusion of the old and the new. Keeping intact the historical lineage of Gond, he fuses elements of modern life and learning’s from his travels with the traditional style and techniques of the artform.

Having travelled to Delhi several times, he felt that the city was a dense mix of people of all kinds - from the simple to the street smart, all jostling for space in the concrete jungle. He felt that the Fox, being one of the most clever creatures in the Jungle, allegorically represented this idea. The density is also representative of the growing numbers of people in our cities.

This mural was an outcome of a month long residency with St+art India Foundation and Asian Paints called ‘From Craft to Contemporary’ which aims at modernising traditional Indian artforms. Over the month Bhajju experimented with various techniques of street art like stenciling and used spray paint for the first time in a process that was a mix of both tradition and modernity.