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The family who invented an art style: ‘He was so scared he would break the pen … now the children do it’
Over three generations in India, members of the Jogi family have preserved their culture with unique and detailed ink works, now on display in Melbourne
Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email and listen to our podcastSangita Jogi’s illustration Women Partying, a joyful depiction of an all-girl disco nightclub, looks very much like something you might see in Teen Vogue. In reality, it’s on the wall at the National Gallery of Victoria, as part of a new exhibition highlighting new acquisitions from contemporary Indian artists in rural, regional, and Indigenous traditions, some handed down for centuries. What is unique about 19-year-old Sangita is that she works in a style practised only in her family: Jogi art, an energetic drawing style using in black ink on white paper, featuring detailed patterns and large, complex composition. It’s been practised for three generations of the Jogi family – which is to say, it’s startlingly modern.
“What’s distinctive about this family, as opposed to others, is that they haven’t inherited this style,” says Wayne Crothers, senior curator of Asian art at the NGV. “It’s come out of them preserving their narrative traditions or their singing and performing traditions.”
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