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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Patangarh village
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Mandla District
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Madhya Pradesh
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India
- Cultural origin
- Pardhan Gond community
- Date
- 1992
- Media category
- Watercolour
- Materials used
- watercolour on paper
- Dimensions
- 144.2 x 110.1 cm
- Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1993
- Location
- South Building, ground level, Asian Lantern galleries
- Accession number
- 347.1993
- Copyright
- © Estate of Jangarh Singh Shyam
- Artist information
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Jangarh Singh Shyam
Works in the collection
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About
The original inhabitants of India are most correctly described by the umbrella term Adivasi. Under this term a large number of communities exist with different social, religious and artistic practises. Jangarh Singh Shyam was born into the community of Gond people who are one of the largest indigenous groups in India.
As a response to drought and wide spread changed living conditions during the 1980s the Bharat Bhavan arts centre located in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh encouraged local and international curators and artists to visit Adivasi communities as a way of promoting their cultural practises. This acted as a catalyst for many Adivasi painters who found new subjects and mediums for painting. Raised within a family of bards, Jangarh Singh Shyam’s talent as an artist was 'discovered' by the renowned Indian modernist painter J Swaminath. As a young man he made the transition from village life to work in Bhopal and went on to feature in major international exhibitions.
In the village environment Gond paintings were painted directly onto walls to illustrate folk lore and celebrate important social events. On the international scene, Jangarh Singh Shyam was able to translate the songs and stories of his people into exquisitely rendered paintings on paper.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 3 exhibitions
India Songs, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 01 Apr 1993–09 May 1993
India Songs, Wollongong Art Gallery, Wollongong, 15 May 1993–12 Jun 1993
India Songs, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange, 25 Jun 1993–31 Jul 1993
India Songs, Canberra School of Art Gallery, Canberra, 05 Aug 1993–04 Sep 1993
India Songs, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown, 17 Sep 1993–24 Oct 1993
Indian Folk Paintings and Textiles, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 29 May 2004–04 Jul 2004
Correspondence, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 10 Sep 2022–2024
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Bibliography
Referenced in 1 publication
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Victoria Lynn, India Songs: multiple streams in contemporary Indian art, Sydney, 1993, 53. cat no. 39
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Provenance
Jangarh Singh Shyam, 1992-1993, Mandla District/Madhya Pradesh/India, purchased from the artist through Haku Shah by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1993.