Waterlife

"Without a shadow of exaggeration, the most beautiful book Ive ever laid eyes on." - Brainpickings.org

"This folk art collection of wood-cut style illustrations is so visually compelling, you may want three copies... one to leaf through at leisure, one to take apart to frame the full-page images, and one to bestow upon someone special." - SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

"Gloriously attractive, endlessly fascinating book. The illustrations of fish, reptiles, crustaceans and sea birds shine and shimmer; each is as vibrant as it is meticulous." - Asian Review of Books

Selected as featured title at the TED2012 Bookstore.

Waterlife features Mithila art, a form of folk painting from Bihar in eastern India. The artist Rambharos Jha grew up on the banks of the legendary river Ganga, and developed a fascination for water and water life. In this visually sumptuous book, Jha creates an unusual artists journal, adapting the motifs of the Mithila style to express his own vision. He frames his colorful images of octopus, crocodiles, birds and shellfish with a playful text that evokes both childhood memory and folk legend.

Waterlife is silk-screen printed by hand on handmade paper, and hand-numbered to indicate the limited print run. Comes shrink-wrapped.

Rambharos Jha grew up on the banks of the legendary river Ganga, and developed a fascination for water and water life. Born in the culture-rich district of Darbanga in the Mithila region, he moved to Madhubani as a child when his father started work in a government supported art and culture project. Since then he has followed his own creative impulses, developing the tradition in his own distinctive style. This is his first book.