Wall decorations on a farmer's house, Rajasthan 1976

This photograph by Jyoti Bhatt captures wall decorations on a farmer's house in Rajasthan. Imagine the artist approaching the mud wall with a brush and a pot of white paint! With each decisive stroke, the mythical birds are brought into being. You can see the artist's hand in the application of the paint. The lines are uneven, a bit shaky, and the paint is probably quite thick – mixed with water and clay, maybe? I’m thinking about the materiality of the image, of the wall, the paint, the labour of the artist. What was Bhatt thinking when they created the image? Wall painting traditions in India echo across cultures and through art history: from the caves at Lascaux, to street art in the Bronx, to Cy Twombly in Rome. Artists are always looking at one another's work, exchanging ideas and inspiration, across generations. And it all comes down to a primal need to make one's mark, to record our existence in the world through visual images that express a community's shared values, dreams, and fears.