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Teju

(India circa 1950– )

Title
Tigers
Place of origin
Rajasthan → India
Cultural origin
The term Adivasi (original inhabitants) is the preferred term for referring to the tribal peoples of India and their art. This artist belongs to the Pauva caste [also known as Jogi or Bharathari]. Her work does not relate directly to an Adivasi style but represents a contemporary style of folk painting.
Period
Contemporary (Adivasi, tribal or folk) circa 1950 - onwards → India
Year
1992
Media category
Painting
Materials used
poster colour on paper
Dimensions

152.0 x 196.0cm

Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
Credit
Purchased 1993
Accession number
351.1993
Location
Not on display
Further information

Teju belongs to the Pauva caste, also known as Jogi or Bharathari. Their profession is to wake people at dawn, by singing. She first showed her work in Dehli at the Crafts Museum in 1985. She has also participated more recently in a show of her drawings at the Volkenkundemuseum, Zurich University, 1992 and 'Prakriti', Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, 1993. She has done many murals on cowdung and clay walls in Delhi and Udaipur. Her paintings on paper are in collections in India, Switzerland, Germany and America. Teju drew for the first time in 1986 at the encouragement of Haku Shah, her patron. She was directly inspired by the things around her, her house, children and Hindu beliefs. She often portrays herself in her work. While Teju's art does not derive from a particular 'Adivasi' style, it nevertheless displays influences from Rhajastani painting. Her images possess the same intensity apparent in the metallic sound of her voice.

India Songs, AGNSW, 1993, p. 48.

Bibliography (1)

Victoria Lynn (Australia) (Author), India Songs: multiple streams in contemporary Indian art, Sydney, 1993, 48, 54. no. 56

Exhibition history (2)

India Songs, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 01 Apr 1993–09 May 1993.

Indian Folk Paintings and Textiles, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 29 May 2004–04 Jul 2004.