"Life Jacket" by Birender
Medium: Terracotta
Dimensions: 11 x 8 inches
Year: 2024
About the artist
Birender Kumar Yadav, born in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, migrated to Jharkhand with his family, where his father worked as an ironsmith in the Dhanbad coal mines.
Growing up near the mines influenced Yadav’s art, which is grounded in the experiences of laboring castes and classes. He completed his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Banaras Hindu University and a Master’s in Fine Arts specializing in Painting from the College of Arts, New Delhi 2015.
Yadav’s work focuses on documenting the lives of laborers, particularly those working in brick kilns. He collaborates with these workers, aiming to represent their experiences of exploitation and oppression. His art transcends traditional mediums, with a recent focus on Terracotta clay, symbolizing the exploitation of laboring castes/classes in India. Yadav’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the 12th Berlin Biennale and the 13th Bamako Encounters. He has also participated in artist residencies in Zurich, Switzerland, and Montreal, Canada. Yadav currently resides and works in New Delhi, India.
