eL Seed: Street art with a message of hope and peace
eL Seed: 傳遞希望與和平的街頭藝術
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.
the minaret of Jara Mosque
突尼斯南部的故鄉Gabés
in the south of Tunisia,
so much attention to a city.
給一座城市帶來如此大魅力。
for a wall in my hometown,
尋找一堵牆,
was built in '94.
of concrete stayed grey.
混凝土牆一直是一片灰濛濛的。
and I told him what I wanted to do,
我把自己想做的事情告訴了他,
he was waiting for somebody
都在等待一個人
is that he didn't ask me anything --
對此並沒有任何過問——
or what I was going to write.
也沒詢問我要寫什麼內容。
I write messages
我借助融入個人風格的書法塗鴉
a mix of calligraphy and graffiti.
傳遞要表達的資訊。
the most relevant message
我認為最適合寫在
should come from the Quran,
應當來自《古蘭經》,
from a male and a female,
男人和女人,
so you may know each other."
讓你們相識相知,”
tolerance, and acceptance
的共同呼喚,
portray in a good way in the media.
對這方面適當渲染。
community reacted to the painting,
我感動驚訝不已
the minaret getting so much attention
獲得如此多
all around the world.
感到那麼的自豪。
just the painting;
這不僅僅是一幅繪畫;
a monument for the city,
成為這座城市的豐碑,
to this forgotten place of Tunisia.
突尼斯這處被遺忘之地。
of Tunisia at this time,
政治背景,
Quran in a graffiti way
書寫可蘭經的事實
the essence of my artwork.
是我的作品之精髓。
even Arabic-speaking people
即便母語為阿拉伯語者
to decipher what I'm writing.
才能辨認出我的字跡。
the meaning to feel the piece.
便可感知作品的真諦。
your soul before it reaches your eyes.
在辨識之前就已觸動你的心靈。
that you don't need to translate.
不需要去翻譯。
where I'm painting,
a universal dimension,
can connect to it.
and read Arabic when I was 18.
就開始學習讀寫阿拉伯語。
this is so important to me,
很重要的原因之一,
I've experienced all around the world.
this Portuguese poem
我翻譯的葡萄牙詩歌
to the poor people of the favela,
對貧民窟的窮人的致敬,
intrigued by what I was doing,
我到底在做什麼,
the meaning of the calligraphy,
這首詩的含義的時候,
connected to the piece.
因為他們認為這首詩與他們息息相關。
concrete wall of the slum.
貧民窟的僅有一面水泥牆。
impossible until it's done."
一切都看似不可能。”
"Man, why you don't write in English?"
“夥計,你為什麼不用英語寫?”
your concern legit if you asked me
為什麼不用祖魯語寫,
and he asked for the wall to be erased.
他要求把塗鴉在牆上的阿拉伯語擦除掉。
of the event asked me to come back,
活動的組織者要求我回來,
right in front of this guy's house.
在這傢伙房屋正前面有一面牆。
to write, "[In Arabic],"
and I wrote, "[In Arabic],"
of it through my artwork.
成為一位大使。
the stereotypes we all know,
使用阿拉伯文字的美感,
of the message anymore on the wall.
寓言的翻譯之意了。
of the calligraphy to be broken,
書法塗鴉的詩意,
without knowing the meaning,
你可以欣賞它,即使不懂文意,
from other countries.
其他國家的音樂一樣。
as a rejection or a closed door,
to my culture, and to my art.
我的文化,以及我的藝術。
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