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Laisul Hoque Wins 2025 East London Art Prize
What drives a visual artist in the midst of the chaos of everyday life, which, looking back, has the persistence to divert one’s attention? One of the answers can be found in Laisul Hoque, the recently announced winner of the 2025 East London Art Prize’s second edition. This year, 900 artists and collectives that reside or work in London’s ‘E’ postcode submitted entries to this all-media art prize competition. Laisul’s interactive installation art piece “An Ode to All the Flavours” (2024) was chosen from 12 shortlisted artists, earning him £15,000 (more than $15,000) and the chance to have a solo exhibition at the Nunnery Gallery in Bow in 2026.
“An Ode to All the Flavours” Interview with Laisul
Laisul spoke extensively about “An Ode to All the Flavours” in an exclusive phone interview with The Daily Star from the UK. The artist drew inspiration for his piece from one of his favorite and earliest memories of his father: when they were visiting their village and went grocery shopping, his father stopped to introduce him to the unusual pairing of spicy fried jhuri and sweet bhundia in a sweet shop.
Transforming Art Installation into Storytelling
“It was funny because the shopkeeper of the sweet shop wasn’t familiar with this combination of food,” Laisul said as he explained the significance of his endeavor. However, the incident remains a central memory of my father expressing emotion in spite of his conditioning to do otherwise due to his upbringing in an environment fostered by traditional hegemonic masculinity.
Remarkably, despite having the most unusual snacking taste, my traditional father used to always advise me to follow the norms and never question them. By transforming the art installation into an expanded storytelling format for the exhibition, I attempted to communicate this paradox in my own way. This allowed visitors to interact with my story by sampling the food.
Suggests lingering childhood memory flavor
“The installation has been arranged to be more of a reciprocal experience, in the sense that viewers can visualise my lived experience while also tasting something similar to the flavour that lingers from my childhood memory,” Laisul said when asked about the art’s reception and whether he thought this naturally Bengali theme could have been exoticised. Because of the great diversity of East London’s creative sector, a project that openly depicts its culture is very commonplace here. Although the artwork may contain cultural signifiers—symbols that are readily apparent to members of the same culture—unaware viewers might take advantage of this to learn more about bhundia and jhuri. Since that was my lived experience and I can’t make art if I deny it, it’s okay if the artwork seems strange to certain people.
He revealed that “An Ode to All the Flavours” has been using food from Oitij-jo Kitchen, a social enterprise in East London. For many Bangladeshi expatriate housewives in London, who were married off in hopes of a better life but were left to handle only household chores after arriving, Laisul served as a sort of reality check. Through employment options, Oitij-jo Kitchen specifically provides such constrained women with financial freedom. In order to give the women of the company and everyone else who might be interested in learning more about art and culture educational opportunities, they also conduct seminars led by artists, such as those provided by Laisul.
Discovered modern art in a hybrid culture
When asked why he decided to pursue a career in art, Laisul unapologetically attributed it to his drive for self-expression. Because I had to navigate two different realities—one inside and one outside of my home—it was challenging for me to interact with my family. I learned how to express myself in a language that my parents didn’t naturally understand because I went to an English-medium school. I discovered modern art in this mingling of a perplexed and hybrid culture of growing up. Without having to worry about language, I can always use my art to express my own experiences and share them with other artists,” Laisul said.
Differentiating Local and International Art Scenes
“Major overhauling choices need to be made on organizational and policy-making levels and the government needs to care enough about it to get things done financially,” Laisul admitted when we started to walk the line of thinking about the differences between the local and international art scenes. The operations of the London art scene are governed by a certain framework, which includes vested interests in becoming gallerists and art critics in order to support the industry with ongoing government funding, for instance. However, I’ve observed that programs like “Dhaka Art Summit,” “Arka Fashion Week,” and “Dhaka Makers” are giving the Bangladeshi art and craft markets the attention they need these days, which is a positive beginning.”
Bangladeshi Art Scene Development Strategies
“It won’t happen overnight,” Laisul said, reflecting on possible strategies to support the development of the Bangladeshi art scene at the collective level. Artists have used their work to influence governments and laws, demonstrating the power of art as a medium. Art has frequently been used as evidence in court, both in support of and against governments. An archive website known as Arte Útil (Useful Art) is a constantly expanding collection of works of art that alter reality and have a significant societal influence.
“I obtained my MA in Contemporary Photography, Practices, and Philosophies at Central Saint Martins, UAL, London, since I was so inspired by what I had seen in the art world and wanted to use it as a springboard into the area. It could be a path forward if individuals with similar experiences come back to Bangladesh to offer a venue for putting together a framework to travel the creative landscape together. For everyone who is waiting to share their lived experiences, we can also potentially secure funding from foreign development funds and taxes.
Focuses on expanding his art practice
Laisul said, “I would like to focus on building and exploring my art practice a lot more,” in response to a question concerning his future ambitions in the visual arts. I am aware that this is a unique chance, and the prize money will help me build my solo show in a year. Since my artistic endeavors are often interdisciplinary, they often take the form of image-based pieces like sculptures, installations, films, and photographs. Essentially, I’m attempting to make sense of my environment, and I believe that doing so will involve establishing my presence in galleries so that it can be viewed as a means of comprehending our history in the future.
