Works on vat paper / Curator: Délia Curro

For more than six centuries, in some villages of the Mithila plain in north-east India, marvelous paintings adorn the mud walls of simple peasant houses with straw roofs. These tattoos are the origin of godana paintings.
Tattoos are at the origin of ornaments intended to divert the evil eye and to attract the graces of the gods. Clan and tribal marks which rural areas retain the practice, are the jewels of the poor.
In the 70s and 80s, the harijan ("children of God", a term created by Gandhi to replace that of untouchable), created their own style, the godana style ("tattoo"), and began to explore new creative horizons.
The works are done in ink on paper vats previously coated with a cow dung wash, sometimes with a bamboo cut to a point, sometimes with a feather. Alongside the sobriety of black ink, there is also a variant of paintings using natural colors (bark, berries, leaves, flowers).
It is fascinating when one is interested in this age-old art to note its vitality and its boldness. Mithila painting proves that tradition can adapt and generate new inspirations while opening up many unsuspected perspectives.
Delia Curro