The Chipko Movement, emerged in the 1970s in the northern region of India. The term "Chipko" means "to hug" or "to cling to" in Hindi, which describes the central tactic of the movement.
The Chipko Movement was an environmental movement primarily led by rural women who protested against the rampant deforestation and commercial logging that was threatening their livelihoods. The movement gained momentum as villagers, particularly women, hugged trees to prevent them from being felled by loggers. I was inspired by a photograph taken by Pamela Singh for her project titled 'Chipko Tree Huggers of the Himalayas'. I used one of her photos as my reference for this painting.