‘My Home My Bari’ is an art installation in which different works combine to evoke and represent British-Bengali homes around Brick Lane in 1971.
Housed in the Kobi Nazrul Centre on Brick Lane, this installation marks the 50th anniversary of the Independence of Bangladesh, by bringing to life a sense of the Bengali culture and community that existed at that time.
Rahemur Rahman, a London-born artist and fashion designer, was commissioned by Tower Hamlets to create what the website describes as a “collaborative and singular” installation. He uses patterns and design to reinterpret and retell stories of South Asian identity. For this exhibit he worked with 19 other participants to communicate what it means to be British Bangladeshi in Brick Lane.
The exhibit includes a variety of photographs of people from the local community as well as a video of different people sharing their personal experiences of growing up within East London Bengali culture. However, the exhibit’s focal point is one makeshift “home” in the centre of room. Using a combination of effects including colour and and smell, this vibrant “home” evokes the atmosphere of Spitalfields in 1971.
Nasima Ahmed
Nasima Ahmed, a British Bangladeshi visitor to the show, told Rising East: “Coming here makes you feel more appreciative of your culture”. She added: “Our generation feels a bit ashamed of their culture and they would rather adopt other cultures. If they were to come here and see what people went through just to be Bangladeshi, they would have more appreciation and they would understand what their own family went through.”
Tasnia Chowdhury
Tasnia Chowdhury, another attendee, said, “I felt proud seeing my culture being represented in a positive light, as the art world lacks South Asian voices. It just highlighted how many difficulties the older generation, (my parents/grandparents) had as immigrants coming to a new country… it would be a big culture shock and a difficult process.” She hoped this show was just the start, and that there would be other opportunities to see work from this local community.
The exhibit also included printouts in which local shopkeepers and restauranteurs shared personal experiences and stories through which the visitor is reminded that these establishments become an extension of home in many ways, adding to that sense of place, belonging and legacy necessary for a culture to survive.
My Home My Bari is open until 14th of December, for more details visit this page.
