“The Jungle Project”- Warli artist duo Vayeda Brothers stirs ‘Sustainable Industrial Revolution’ in Maharashtra
Bringing new dynamism to folk art by taking up projects in public space, Vayeda Brothers — warli artists from the Ganjad village in rural Maharashtra are involving the next generation of artists especially women in their creative process “The Jungle Project” to spread awareness about green initiatives in the face of rapid industrialisations.
The sibling duo Mayur and Tushar Vayeda duo known as the Vayeda Brothers—have been passionately chronicling their memories and observations of community life in their art.
In the past they have also painted cave walls on Awashima Island, Japan, during a residency in 2018. Made in the warli style in collaboration with contemporary artist Maki Ohkojima.
According to them, they want to act as a bridge between the ancient and modern worlds by translating the wisdom and knowledge passed down from our ancestors into a language that can be understood by all, explain the duo who see themselves as not just artists but also researchers, storykeepers, and educators.
Warli art generally represents the human figures in white dancing against a brown landscape—paper primed with natural cow dung—alongside trees, animals, rivers, and birds that seem to swing in symphony.
Showcasing their work which include ambitious illustrated book at international exhibitions and residencies they mark their presence as contemporary folk artists in monumental murals all over the world—including a larger-than life seascape that was unveiled at Sassoon Docks for the Mumbai Urban Arts Festival in December 2022 and the facade of India Art Fair in New Delhi, which will be transformed into a “Forest of the Future” in February 2023.
More than their vivid imagination, their paintings depict the real life experiences that surround us as over the past few years the city too has embraced the Warli universe. Their “Paintings from Urban Forest” series manifest Tall linear buildings, factories, heritage architectures, trucks, trains, and aeroplanes cleaving through the canvas mired in the clouds of smoke.
