The Earth My Home Himalayan Natural Art Exhibition

The Exhibition The Earth My Home The Himalayan Natural Art Exhibition is an outcome of our first residential Natural Art Course, that was held at our Mountain-Wind Campus in Bhuira village, Himachal Pradesh from 4th to 10th June, 2024 and included 7 women artists from Delhi, Australia and Himachal Pradesh. It was facilitated by Bettina (Bina) Van Haeften, a Wild Art artist from Australia, who is on the MW faculty.

She introduced the concept of wild Art and eco-dyeing with Shibori techniques during this Course. The Course was designed to have two art skill components which included Eco-dyeing using Shibori techniques to produce art work on natural calico fabric and Wild Art using natural pigments and brushes. In the latter the participant artists learnt how to make their own natural paints or pigments and ‘brushes’ from materials from the surrounding forest area.

This exhibition is not only unusual in its content and highly contextual given the global climate; but we also believe it to be the first of its kind in the country; where all the non-traditional artists have used only natural self-made brushes and self-made 100% natural paints in all the artwork. The art work which will be showcased at this exhibition is entirely made with natural pigments and utensils or brushes made from stones, leaves and bark sourced from the natural Himalayan forest environment around our MW Campus and the shibori work is completely made from self-made natural dyes. The unique and special quality of this display is the fact that the only market materials used in producing all the art pieces are paper, canvas and calico/ natural cotton cloth.

 Alka Mathur, an alumna of Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, creates mixed-media assemblages inspired by the parched landscapes of Rajasthan, blending tradition and modernity through natural dyes, kantha stitching, and tea-stained autobiographical works. Australian artist Bina Van Haeften’s work celebrates her deep connection with nature, incorporating textiles, weaving, and slow art practices, while also fostering creativity through workshops. Georgina Maddox, a seasoned critic-curator, delves into themes of gender, sexuality, and marginalization, curating thought-provoking exhibitions like the award-winning Barbil Art Project. Pooja Hada, an interior designer turned artist, captures vibrant Indian motifs and cultural roots in her dynamic canvases. The Himalayan Rilung Foundation furthers this spirit of creativity and ecological consciousness through its Mountainwind Ecoversity, bridging traditional knowledge and modern education to nurture a compassionate global community.

A part of the sale proceeds from this show is being donated to the Himalayan Rilung Foundation by the participant artists to support its work in experiential hands-on learning and the protection of the natural Himalayan environment. Many of the participant artists are well-known women artists from Delhi (listed below). The show will be curated by Georgina Maddox, a Delhi-based art critic and Curator who was a participant at the Course herself and did a short half-day session on Art Curation at the Course.