Street artist ‘eL Seed’ combines calligraphy and graffiti to convey messages of hope and peace in contexts marked by major social controversies. Inspired by the places where he acts, his work seeks to value the Arabic calligraphy and link it to positive values that can reach everyone without translation. Also, part of the artist’s work aims to draw attention to forgotten places.
“Born and raised in Paris to Tunisian parents, graffiti artist eL Seed has left his mark all over the world (from the Jara Mosque to canyons to Louis Vuitton scarves), by spray-painting universal messages that funnily enough, the majority of viewers will not be able to decipher without a little help. eL Seed merges traditional Arabic calligraphy with the freestyle, guerrilla nature of modern graffiti. His murals—which take their geographic location into context—relay their ideas on a deeper level than just language; their movement, shapes, colors and more splashed onto a wall capture the viewer’s attention and asks them to open their mind. ‘Arabic script speaks to your soul before it reaches your eyes,’ the artist says.”
Gabès, Tunisia
“‘So people think that the only thing I write is about revolution. Why can’t you have Arabic script in [foreign] places and accept it as a normal thing, without thinking this is a call for jihad?’ He contrasts it to the way that English can be found around the world, even on his microwave in Doha, and taken for granted. In the same way, he hopes to separate Arabic from its misrepresented ties to the religious and radical and use it instead to spread messages of empathy, hope, understanding and more through the democratic channels of graffiti.”
Algiers, Algeria
“‘Everything that I do has a message. I try to get inspiration from the place where I’m painting; I try to bring messages that are relevant to the people of the place,’ says eL Seed. […] He continues, ‘I think painting in the street is already a political act. You’re painting in a public space; you’re addressing something to the people. And then what you write—it’s a political act because you have a responsibility to the community.’”
Cape Town, South Africa
“A major—a very personal—project for eL Seed in the last year was completing ‘Lost Walls,’ a month-long road trip through his motherland, Tunisia. Traversing the country from north to south, east to west, he and his team visited forgotten places, bringing attention to them and beautifying them through graffiti.”
Tunisia
Sharjah, UAE
Paris, France
Paris, France
New York, USA
Cape Town, South Africa
Tunisia
Tunisia
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