I have known Sylheti-Bangladeshi artist Saif Osmani for several years. He has a dark and dangerous sense of humour, a sweet tooth, he cannot dance and is a terrible flirt. Saif is great fun and, although we have often had frustrating conversations about class struggle and meritocracy, I have never actually seen him angry. Until now.
Saif was born to working-class parents in what was then one of the most impoverished parts of London: 1980s Whitechapel. Now, the main street in the area, Brick Lane, is the hub of what is known as ‘Bangla Town’. The hard work of his elders – he describes them as ‘intrepid explorers’ seeking a new life in Britain – gave rise to a highly educated second and third generation. (Osmani himself gained a degree in Architecture and a masters in Architecture & Historic Urban Environments.) Now, with its uber-cool clubs, eateries and avant garde galleries, the East End is arguably the hippest district in the capital.
