The Eighth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

careers and are regarded as pioneers of contemporary Warli and Gond art respectively. Tragically, Shyam was to commit suicide in 2001 in mysterious circumstances while on residency in the Mithila Museum in Japan, amid speculation that the separation from his village and family became too overwhelming for him. In the Mithila region, Ganga Devi, Mahasundari Devi and other female artists were similarly encouraged to paint or draw on paper. Mithila and Warli painting had been ephemeral mural- based practices, associated with rituals and ceremonies, and painted only by women. This changed as new markets and opportunities opened up. Warli art, for a global market at least, became a predominantly male practice, while male artists from the Mithila region also began to paint and draw. In the Chitrakar community of West Bengal, female artists were trained for the first time to practise this itinerant form, and social organisations also recognised its potential for community engagement. Kalpa Vriksha focuses on works by a second and third generation of artists who have emerged in this broader context, continuing to draw on communal cultural inheritance while creating art that is individual and innovative. Many of these artists have a rich cultural heritage that directly informs their practice, and their works are inextricably linked to communal beliefs and social systems, as well as to local history and a strong sense of place. APT8 represents three artists from indigenous communities of central India, the Warli and Gond peoples. Balu Ladkya Dumada and Rajesh Chaitya Vangad belong to the Warli people, who are known for paintings constructed of white lines and geometric forms on mud or cowdung- primed surfaces. Dumada specialises in painting local folk stories, while Vangad’s broader projects have included public art murals and initiatives aimed at increasing educational attendance in schools. The Gonds are one of the largest groups of indigenous peoples of India, and their artworks Gond mural, National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, New Delhi, 2014 / Photograph: Tarun Nagesh Naya Village, Midnapore / Photograph: Arindam Bhowmik / © The photographer 170—171 AWORLD UNFOLDS