PAINTING THE TOWN SACHA JAFRI
Alexander Fareed Jafri, better known to the world as Sacha, wears his laurels lightly as he plays the fame game with aplomb. The 40-year-old Etonian and Oxford University graduate peppers his conversations with the names of billionaires, movie stars and royals – A-listers to most of the world – but close friends, collaborators and collectors in his circle.
Everyone from Bill Gates to George Clooney – who he was commissioned by to create a painting highlighting the plight of Darfur’s refugees – to Richard Branson, David Beckham and Sir Elton John, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, Kate Moss and Lady Gaga are all part of his clique.
Yet, the jet set father-of-two, who recently added a Dubai base to those he already has in London and New York, is nonchalant when pressed about his starry fan base, insisting his father, who himself has Indian royal lineage, taught him to treat everyone equally, as celebrity in itself is intangible and fleeting.
Surprisingly outspoken about the art he likes (the old masters) and those he doesn’t (the shock art movement), the affable painter with a distinctive Persian, Indian and British ancestry was happy to exclusively welcome HELLO! into his eclectic waterfront UAE base, which he created by knocking two villas on The Palm Jumeirah together, to talk about the unique studio-meets-gallery he calls home and his upcoming 18-year retrospective which will gather the best four
