Sun and Moon - Folk Tales - Handmade Book

Day and Night are two halves of a whole, and so are the sun and the moon.

Part of everyday life, yet rich in symbolic meaning, renderings of the sun and the moon are present in all folk and tribal art traditions of India. They are always in relationship with each other. Agrarian societies keep track of time by referring to markers in the seasonal variations of the sun, moon, and the planets. Over the course of time, they have also woven wonderful stories and myths around them. Here, for the first time, is a collection of unusual stories and exquisite art from some of the finest living artists, on this most universal of themes.

Artists featured in this book include several award-winners of extraordinary talent, including Bhajju Shyam, Ramsingh Urveti , Durga Bai, Rambharos Jha, Dulari Devi, Sunita and Jagdish Chitara. Many of these artists have exhibited in India and abroad, being featured in exhibitions of indigenous and folk art from India.

Tara Books, 2020, hardcover (silkscreen-printed on paper recycled from cotton waste), 10 x 11 inches, 28 pages.

Tara Books is an award-winning, internationally-recognized independent publishing house made up of a collective of writers, designers and book artisans who favor a non-hierarchical mode of functioning, informed by feminism and other movements for social justice.

Founded in 1994 by Gita Wolf and based in Chennai, India, Tara Books runs its own print shop, employing over 25 bookmaking artisans on a fair-trade basis. Known for their handmade books, they use handmade paper and non-toxic inks to create numbered artists’ books, as well as art prints and unique stationery (we also carry their wonderful Flukebooks!)

They collaborate with a range of writers, artists and designers from lndia and elsewhere, and an integral part of their publishing is a pioneering engagement with the rich diversity of Indian folk and tribal art.