Dhavat

Dhavat’s work keeps alive the ancient artistic traditions of the Gond people. The Gond people decorate the walls of their houses with stories about their environment, their relationship with the tiger and its prey and the folk tales that have been handed down the generations. Gond art is meticulous in its execution and rich in colours. Dhavat employs all the traditional techniques and tribal imagery but makes use of modern materials like paper, canvas and paints in creating drawings and paintings of animals emphasizing our urgent need to protect his immediate environment from human interference.
Dhavat has been painting professionally for many years. The Baiga tribals of whom he is one has created a bond with the animals through the generations. Quick to intuitively understand that their lives are woven together, these tribals actually worshipped the tiger in their folk tales. Dhavat grew up in this environment and later went on to study engineering.
Characterised by a oneness with nature, the Gond tribe from Madhya Pradesh create bold, vibrantly coloured paintings, depicting mainly flora and fauna. The colours are created from earthy materials like charcoal, cow dung, leaves and soil. The painted surface is made up of dots and lines. Today, these styles are painted with powdered pigments or even modern day acrylic paints. The Gond art form was promoted worldwide through the masterful Jangarh Singh Shyam. He unfortunately ended his life due to loneliness in faraway Japan, as he was unable to communicate. One of the current masters of this art is Dhavat. He has built a refined style of his own and a formidable reputation.