eL Seed: A project of peace, painted across 50 buildings
ال سید: پروژه صلح، رنگ آمیزی ۵۰ ساختمان
French-Tunisian artist eL Seed blends the historic art of Arabic calligraphy with graffti to portray messages of beauty, poetry and peace across all continents. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
an art piece in Manshiyat Naser,
در منشیت ناصر
garbage collectors in Egypt,
را خلق کنم،
بهترین
that I would ever live.
باشد که تا کنون داشتهام.
this humanist intention
این قصد انساندوستانه را داشتم
and neglected neighborhood
غفلت واقع شده را با آوردن
shining light on this isolated community.
نوری درخشان بر این جامعه منزوی بیاورم.
this Christian Coptic community
قبطی شنیدم
under the regime of Hosni Mubarak
تحت فرمان حسنی مبارک
using the pretext of H1N1 virus.
۳۰۰٫۰۰۰ خوک را قتلعام کنند.
پرورش دهنده خوک بودند.
are fed with the organic waste
با ضایعات طبیعی که روزانه
it felt like a maze.
احساس کردم که مثل مارپیچ است.
on the top of the Muqattam Mountain.
بالای کوه مقطم بودم.
then right again, then left
راست بعد چپ
the trucks overpacked with garbage
کامیونهای پر از زباله حرکت کنید
in the neighborhood.
محله رد شوید.
unloaded from those trucks was intense,
تخلیه میشد، شدید،
was loud and overbearing.
غالب بود.
in those warehouses along the way.
انبارهای داخل مسیر رو هم اضافه کنید.
but everything is perfectly organized.
همه چیز کاملا سازمان یافته بود.
they call themselves,
neighborhood for decades.
دسته بندی میکردند.
one of the most efficient
که بسیار سود آور است
on a global level.
as dirty, marginalized and segregated
هنوز آن منطقه به عنوان جایی کثیف،
with the trash.
was to create an anamorphic piece,
طراحی قطعه آنامورفیک بود
from one vantage point.
یک موضع برتر بتوانید ببینید.
by painting over several buildings
نقاشی چند ساختمان به چالش بکشم
from one point on the Muqattam Mountain.
قابل دیدن باشد.
is the pride of the community.
the St. Simon Monastery,
سیمون را ساختند.
that they carved into the mountain itself.
داده شده از خود کوه.
I stood on top of the mountain
will I convince all those owners
که صاحبان این املاک را راضی کنم
نقاشی کنم.
to convince was Father Samaan,
پدر سمان است
I needed to convince Mario,
ماریو را قانع کنی،
who moved to Cairo 20 years ago
۲۰ سال پیش به قاهره نقل مکان کرد
of the Cave Church.
این کلیسای غاری را به وجود آورد.
He was the key of the project.
اون کلید اصلی پروژه من بود.
a meeting with Father Samaan,
پدر سمان داشته باشم،
این کار را کنم.
by what I was going to write.
چه متنی را میخواهم بنویسم.
I write messages
پیامی رو روی آن با
to the place where I am painting
که دارم روی آن نقاشی میکنم.
can relate to it.
بتواند با اون پیام ارتباط برقرار کند.
the words of St. Athanasius of Alexandria,
از آتاناسیوس بنویسم،
to see the sunlight clearly
felt connected to the words.
داشته باشند.
reflecting the spirit of the project.
خوب پروژه را منعکس میکرد،
all the residents on board.
همراه کرد.
a dozen blue manual lifts,
آسانسور آبی رنگ دستی،
North Africa, Middle East and the US,
آفریقای شمالی، خاورمیانه و آمریکا
and logistics, there we are,
و تدارکات، این ما هستیم،
from the local community
spread over 50 buildings,
۵۰ ساختمان گسترش مییابد
of the calligraphy
پر میشدند.
there some orange.
و برخی هم نارنجی بودند.
on the top of the buildings
and disassembling those same lifts
یا پیاده میکردند
the different buildings.
buildings on my sketch,
را شماره گذاری کردم،
with the community.
became family names.
اسم پیدا کردند.
was the house of Uncle Ibrahim.
an enthusiastic person.
saved me from his bull
از دست آن گاو نر نجات میدادند
on the fourth floor.
and came out on the balcony.
و به بالکن آمد.
hanging out on the balcony
go to the mountain for 10 years,
۱۰سالی است که کوه نرفته
who will stop the garbage?
چه کسی مانع زبالهها میشد.
at the end of the project,
to look at the piece.
تا نگاهی به این تکه بیاندازد.
to see his house painted,
was a project of peace and --
of peace and unity
towards the project changed,
the community changed also,
و آنچه آنها انجام میدادند
is disgusted by is not theirs.
مال آنها نیست.
They live from the garbage.
بلکه از آن پول درمیآوردند.
این که هدف واقعی
of this whole project?
a place by bringing art to it.
هنر به آنجا نبود.
and opening a dialogue
با جوامعی بود
with communities that we don’t know.
را نمی دانستیم.
on the mountain to look at the piece.
و نگاه کردن به اثر را داشتیم.
every day made my realize
ایستاده بودم که باعث شد
this anamorphic piece.
the real image of somebody,
to work in such environments,
while you paint
خوکها زیر دست و پایمان بودند
to reach a lift.
به آسانسور استفاده میکردیم.
of the heights, the swinging lifts,
اسانسورهای گردان،
of not finishing on time.
غلبه میکردیم.
made us forget everything.
همه چیز را فراموش کنیم.
of Uncle Bakheet and Aunty Fareeda.
و خاله فریدا بود.
this expression that says, "Ahsen Nas,"
in front of their houses,
خانه آنها برگزار میکردیم،
by the kids of Manshiyat Naser.
منشیت ناصر بودم.
refusing anything we were offering them,
«چرا اینطوریه؟»
their kids to refuse anything
needs it more than they do.
به آن چیز نیاز داشته باشد.
was the ideal context
our level of misconception
based on their differences.
زیر زسوال ببریم.
on Uncle Ibrahim's house
در خانه عمو ابراهیم کارمان عقب افتاد،
جفتگیری میکنند
that hold the lifts.
استفاده میکردیم را داشتند میخوردند.
and Aunty Fareeda
a project of peace and unity,
that people were coming together.
که آنها با هم میآمدند.
with a smile, offering us a drink
own house for lunch.
نزد ما میآمدند.
at the first level of a building,
and offers you some tea.
و به چای دعوت میشوید.
on the second floor.
as I did in Egypt.
چای نخورده باشم.
we could have finished earlier,
میتوانستیم کار را زودتر تمام کنیم،
because of all those tea breaks.
سه هفته طول کشید.
which is "Nawartouna,"
they were always telling us this.
این حرف را به ما میزنند.
for the calligraphy
برای خطاطی استفاده میکردم
we rented some black light projectors
تعدادی پروژکتور نور مشکی کرایه میکردیم
who brought light to us.
را برای ما به ارمغان آوردند.
are strong, honest, hard workers,
call them "the Zabaleen,"
را «زبالین» مینامیم
the people of Manshiyat Naser
که مردم منشیات ناصر
who produce the garbage, not them.
زباله تولید می کنند نه آنها.
to this community,
who left something in our lives.
که چیزی را در زندگیهای ما باقی گذاشتند.
was just a pretext
will disappear, vanish,
who is building a second floor
که طبقه دومی را جلوی
and paint over it.
از نو رنگ کنم.
that we should all think about
ما باید پیش از این که بخواهیم
the sunlight clearly
را به وضوح ببیند
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
eL Seed - ArtistFrench-Tunisian artist eL Seed blends the historic art of Arabic calligraphy with graffti to portray messages of beauty, poetry and peace across all continents.
Why you should listen
Born in Paris to Tunisian parents, eL Seed travels the world, making art in Paris, New York, Jeddah, Melbourne, Gabes, Doha and beyond. His goal: to create dialogue and promote tolerance as well as change global perceptions of what Arabic means. In 2012, for instance, he painted a message of unity on a 47-meter-high minaret on the Jara mosque in Gabes, Tunisia. This piece and others can be found in his book, Lost Walls: Graffiti Road Trip through Tunisia
Most recently he created a sprawling mural in the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood of Cairo that spans 50 buildings and can only be viewed from a local mountaintop. Intending to honor the historic garbage collectors of the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood, the piece reads, "Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first."
eL Seed | Speaker | TED.com