Jayesh Kumar Sharma received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (2012) from Varanasi. His earlier interests in painting soon began to shift to the medium of photography, documentation, archiving, etc. Growing up in a small village in Uttar Pradesh, his early life kept him away from the 'modern' world so to say. The move to Banaras and then Mumbai made him see the world anew. He became aware of the myriad social struggles and sweeping changes that were occurring across the country, sensitizing him to the many traditions, rituals, local sports, crafts, that were being lost forever. He determined to capture these “losses” though his camera and has since worked on projects which are impacted by this onrush of change.
He saw that Kushti, an ancient form of sport was not just a sport but a whole way of life, integrating into its almost monastic lifestyle, ritual, society, ways of living, acknowledgement of one's past, and mostly a connection with the earth (the soil) on which it was practiced. His photographs, shot over 6 years, use this fast disappearing sport as a metaphor of all that is being lost - man's disconnection with the earth, which was once valued and worshipped and which sustained us all.
Jayesh’s works have been exhibited in Mumbai, Venice, Milan, Madrid amongst other places. His ‘Kushti - The Lost Children of Postmodernism’ series has been covered in many magazines and articles, both in India and abroad.
2018 Gold Medal Award, Eye Win International Photography, Delhi, India
2017 Next Generation Award, Nikon International Photography, Tokyo, Japan
2023 Group Exhibition “Bright” at Van Gogh Art Gallery, Madrid
2023 International Contemporary Art Fair, Luxemburg,
2023 MIA Photo Fair, Milan, Italy
2023 Finalist in Digital Photography, Arte Laguna Venice 2023
2022 Indian Photo Festival Portrait Prize, Exhibition at the Auckland Festival of Photography, New Zealand
2021 Finalist Portrait Award, Indian Photo Festival, Hyderabad, India
2016 The Exposure Award Exhibition, SeeMe Photography Community, Louvre Museum Photo Gallery, France
2016 Solo Show, Jahangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
Title: Kushti 15, 2019
Size: 109.22 x163.83 (43”L x 64.5”H)
Title: Kushti 45, 2023
Size: 333.8 x50.8 (13.3”L x 20”H)
Title: Kushti 39, 2022
Size: 33.8 x50.8 (13.3”L x 20”H)
Title: Kushti 40, 2022
Size: 84.67 x 127cms (33.33”L x 50”H)