With the aroma of Badam Halwa tickling our noses, we prepared ourselves to unfold the life of a woman who chose to raise all the grave issues our society is burdened with. A Fine Arts Graduate in sculpture making, Shweta Bhattad could not find solace in exhibiting her art in the confinement of a gallery.
She started off at a very young age of 16, taking up issues and depicting them through varied art forms. In order to reach more people, Shweta Bhattad took the medium of performance art. But she realised not many people understood the crux of her performance. Art needs to be moulded in a form familiar to its audience for it to be understood. She doesn’t restrict her craft to a certain medium but binds her performance to the concept.
Like on visiting a small village in Rajasthan, she came to know how girls were deprived of even basic education in life, whereas, the boys were encouraged for the same. To raise this issue, Shweta Bhattad made Uplas (cow dung cakes), took footprints of the girls, and asked the girls to write their dreams on them. The villagers were astonished to know the vivid aspirations their daughters had. From then on, she has been conducting and participating in various Art Residencies (a place where Artists meet, discuss & project the theme through their collective Art) around the world. Her concepts range from basic fundamental rights to bold issues. Hailing from a small village near Nagpur, Paradsinga, Shweta Bhattad has contributed and played a vital role in developing the lives of the people there. She, with her team,has set up a unit for making eco-friendly Raakhis, with a seed in the center, so that it can be shown later on under the Gram Art Project. Her aim is to make lives sustainable and the society realise that it’s time to remove the existing taboos. Shweta Bhattad has had her share of criticism and appreciation. Her most appreciated & acknowledged performances include Project Faith, Venus Fly, trap, Bharatmatain Taiwan, Three Course Meal And The Dessert Of Vomit among others.
From her home to her family relationships, everything speaks Simple & Sustainable. And yes, even the Badam Halwa is made without preservatives and yet lasts for 6-7 months! This is her mother, Usha Bhattad’s brainchild, created so that her far away living children can also have their favourite mom-made halwa anytime. And we know where the ideology is adapted from.
