Bloom at Dusk celebrated the artistic flowering of Jodhaiya Bai Baiga (1938–2024), one of India’s most remarkable contemporary indigenous artists, whose creative journey began in the later years of her life. Presented by Ojas Art, the exhibition highlighted a visionary talent who transformed hardship, cultural memory, and ecological knowledge into magnificent, luminous art.

In Bloom at Dusk, we encountered the visionary world Baiga summoned through her art — a world shaped by sacred imagery, Baiga beliefs, and the forests of her childhood in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh. Her works, rendered in vivid acrylic on paper, canvas, and papier-mâché, drew from her wish to imagine a beautiful world alive with divine beings and forest dwellers. Recurring motifs included the sacred mahua tree, Bholenath, and Bageswar, the tiger god, which, alongside human figures, ancestral spirits, ritual dancers, and forest creatures, were woven into a mythic tapestry rooted in Baiga culture. She also explored environmental critique: in paintings like Burning of Bandhavgarh, she responded to rising forest fires and ecological loss.

Baiga’s art has travelled internationally, finding audiences in Milan, Paris, and New Delhi. Her bold and dynamic compositions resist being merely decorative; they are powerful, contemporary statements born from deep rootedness. Bloom at Dusk honoured her radiant flowering — an artistic legacy both personal and timeless.

This exhibition was presented in association with Ashish Swami Centre for Arts.