Art as demystifying dialogue; bringing different art practices to the common man

The Barbil Art Project in Odisha helmed by Jagannath Panda aims to unify art and craft with contemporary idiom
Installation by Ankon Mitra and Prashanta Behera
Installation by Ankon Mitra and Prashanta Behera

Golden grass artisans Prashanta Behera and Diptirani Behera from Odisha’s Jajpur blend paper origami style and golden grass to create an outlier sculptural narrative. Bibhu Nath and Purusottam Mohapatra experiment in papier-mâché. Odisha-based artist Kulu Ojha and established paddy craft artisan Chandrasena Majhi (from Nabarangpur in the state) re-interpret traditional divine sculpture. International performance artist, painter and multimedia artist Satadru Sovan and young Chhau dancer Pradyumna Mohanta express different aspects of masculine identity—playful and experimental and martial and traditional, respectively.

These and more are part of the Barbil Art Project (BAP), a bi-annual collaborative art event conceptualised by renowned artist Jagannath Panda, organised by Utsha Foundation and Arya Group, and curated by art critic Georgina Maddox. It aims to bring different art practices to the common man and initiate a continuous dialogue between artists and indigenous artisans. 

For the first time a month ago, the Barbil project saw the direct engagement of craftspersons with contemporary artists.  Seven traditional craftspersons of Odisha and seven contemporary artists came together to bridge the age-old creative divide and give the state’s rich craft heritage a fresh perspective. Each of the seven collaborative installations and sculptures that were created—rightly titled ‘Rûpa-loka: Incarnation of Ideas’—told stories relevant to contemporary times using traditional crafts of the state. The artworks are on permanent exhibition at ‘Iron City’ Barbil’s Arya Colony in Keonjhar district.

“Odisha’s handicrafts have a historical context but since the designs have not evolved, artists do not make much money. This is also why many craft forms are dying. Hence, unifying art and crafts, and engaging the traditional artists with their contemporary counterparts have become necessary for crafts to survive,” says Panda, founder of Utsha Foundation, who has been working with handicraft artisans for over a decade now.  It was started with the purpose of introducing various art practices to non-art communities in the mining-hit Barbil, he adds.  

An interesting installation is the eight-foot-long ‘Nabagunjara’, a contemporary interpretation of the Vishnu Purana, done entirely with palm leaves, ink, and gouache. Pattachitra artisan Bijay Parida and artist Anindita Bhattacharya collaborated to create nine avatars of Lord Vishnu that brought the realisation to the Pandavas by taking the form of nine animals and birds, to show them they are not aware of everything—Parida says he is in the possession of palm leaf which is over a 100-year old. Bhattacharya, who works with miniatures and in layers to juxtapose stories, added some extinct species of animals to the avatars to show the wildlife in the contemporary scenario where human greed has been robbing nature of its precious forests, animals, and birds. In fact, Nature is central to many of the installations, says Panda.

A similarly striking work is ‘The Burning Forests’ by Delhi-based artist Shivani Aggarwal and Sabai grass artisans of Mayurbhanj, Ranjita and Jadunath Dhal. They used Sabai grass to present a narrative on the degradation of forests and raging forest fires in Odisha. Subrat Behera, a printmaker and painter, worked with Dokra artisans of Dhenkanal, Basanti Behera and Basanta Behera, to create an eight-foot-high bronze sculpture of a faceless man holding a bald tree with empty nests. “I wanted to show that animals and birds are being forced to migrate to safer lands with human beings encroaching on forests. The protagonist has been left faceless as it could be anyone, you or even me,” says Subrat. 

Meaningful collaborations like these, Panda explains, are aimed at putting both artists and artisans on an equal footing and training the latter in creating their crafts in newer ways. “The result has been magnificent. Since the traditional artists now have a new vision on contemporising their work, we plan to make this engagement an annual affair,” explains Panda, known for his mixed-media paintings, drawings, and sculptures. 

Creative Collaborators:

Anindita Bhattacharya with Talapatra Chitra artist Bijay Parida

Ankon Mitra with golden grass artisans Prashanta Behera and Diptirani Behera

Bibhu Nath with papier-mâché artist Purusottam Mohapatra

Kulu Ojha with paddy craft artisan Chandrasena Majhi

Satadru Sovan with Chhau dancer Pradyumna Mohanta

Shivani Aggarwal with Sabai grass artisans Ranjita and Jadunath Dhal

Subrat Behera with Dokra artisans Basanta Behera and Basanti Behera

Each of the seven collaborative installations and sculptures that were created told stories relevant to contemporary times using traditional crafts of the state

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