Tribal arts get a 3-D interpretation

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While pursuing her M.Phil in Economics, artist Hansa Nyati would travel to Banswara district of Rajasthan to visit the tribals. She was surprised at the warm welcome she got. “They opened the new world of tribal art to me,” says Hansa, whose solo exhibition “Fusion” — an experiment with traditional Indian folk art and artefacts was showcased in the capital recently.

During her association with the tribe in 1990s, Hansa found their art full of life. It enthused her to explore other tribal art forms across the country.
“It strengthened my belief that the magic that can be created by combining different tribal art forms cannot be created by using a single form,” says Hansa, who mainly dabbles in the Worli arts, Dhokra metal works and Rajasthani folk.
In the exhibition, she displayed 3-D artefacts and paintings created using the amalgamation of all the three forms.
Hansa has been practicing the traditional art form since 25 years and thus has seen it evolve. While it seems that very few people take it up, Hansa says that its popularity should not be judged by the extent of its commercial exploitation. “It may not be that popular amongst the upper echelons of the society, but if you walk through the homes of millions of people in rural India, you would witness the traditional art in its purest form. Be it the decorations on the wall or wood carvings on the doors and windows or mythological figures created on the doorstep using simple material like cow-dung, it can be found everywhere,” she says.