Yogesh Kumar’s practice draws from his lived experience of growing up in a lower-middle-class family of potters, shaped by societal hierarchies and traditional expectations that often suppressed individual identity. His work reflects the inequalities and injustices he witnessed early in life, serving as a form of personal and collective catharsis.
Deeply connected to his ancestral craft of pottery and terracotta, Yogesh explores themes of cultural memory, fading traditions, and the changing identity of his community. His compositions confront social stereotypes and unspoken realities, allowing viewers to resonate with these shared human experiences. Working primarily with intaglio and installation, Yogesh uses etched surfaces to symbolize the scars of societal structures, while installations made with familiar materials create an immersive dialogue between memory, material, and meaning. His recurring imagery of watchful eyes and paper boats reflects both the resilience and quiet struggle of potter communities whose identities often remain unnoticed.