Small is the New Big

Olivia Fraser travelled to India in 1989 with her boyfriend and now husband William Dalrymple. She fell in love with miniature paintings when she first encountered them at the National Museum, Delhi. Then in the early 2000s, she decided to apprentice under a traditional artist from Jaipur, Ajay Sharma. Her next stint was in 2005 as she joined a studio in Delhi that specialised in Pichwai painting from the Nathdwara tradition in Rajasthan. Her works were on display along with those of 26 other artists at the recently concluded exhibition An Alternative Contemporary, curated by Waswo X Waswo, at Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts in Panaji, Goa.

“While learning Pichwai, I was told there was ‘only one way’ of painting the artistic vocabulary from this Bhakti tradition. You had to look within,” says Fraser, who is also inspired by the monumental miniature artworks created by the court artists in the early 19th century for Maharaja Man Singh of Jodhpur. She says, “I use the theme of a sacralised landscape, using spiritually-associated precious pigments, as the subject matter rather than as the backdrop to a deity. I feel the landscape around us is a place of wonder and it’s important to remember this very precious world we live in, especially in these times of war and climate emergency.”

Part of the show, artist Khadim Ali, would agree. The Afghan refugee, who was born in Pakistan and is now based in Australia, presents works that include Persian miniatures and explores themes like migration, memory, and loss. For him choosing a miniature art form is natural. “Because my ancestors come from the region of ancient Iran and India, long before the Partition, I feel an inherited connection to this form. It’s a continuation of the artistic and visual expressions of my ancestors.” For him, the miniature style is deeply poetic. It carries metaphor, rhythm, and layered meaning. He is also inspired by Shahnameh, a 10th-century epic poem “Shahnameh teaches resilience, love, and the art of living with dignity. Through my work, I try to echo that,” he says. All this is represented through the medium of embroidered fabrics, weaving, etc, since for Ali it is a way to reveal his cultural heritage.

For both artists these are exciting times since there is a surge in the revival of miniature art form. Waswo says, “This new acceptance can be seen in the growing number of contemporary miniature artists finally breaking into international art fairs and high-end galleries. I think there is hunger among collectors to see finely detailed works.”

Fraser says this revival is refreshing. She suggests that it could be the effect of the British Raj that miniature painting lost patronage. Subsequent art schools looked to the artistic heritage of the West. “Picasso, Cubism, Expressionism…. these were the new gods. In Pakistan in the 1980s miniature painting took on a new contemporary lease of life. The National College of Arts in Lahore made it as an integral part of the degree course,” she says.

Now many artists are taking this reborn visual language into open, experimental, and personal territories. Miniature is getting bigger by the day.

Story by Arti Das