ABOUT THE SPEAKER
eL Seed - Artist
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.

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."

More profile about the speaker
eL Seed | Speaker | TED.com
TED2015

eL Seed: Street art with a message of hope and peace

eL Seed: 傳遞和平同希望嘅街頭藝術

Filmed:
1,581,298 views

父母係突尼斯人,自己生於法國,eL Seed 好自豪自己擁有唔同嘅文化身分,識得唔同地方嘅語言。佢將阿拉伯話嘅詩詞融入佢嘅塗鴉同街頭創作裡面。佢嘅演講當中蘊藏住佢嘅熱情。本身係藝術家同 TED 研究生嘅 eL Seed 將會向我哋講解佢嘅抱負︰令藝術創作可以靚到唔需要翻譯。
- Artist
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.

2012 年
00:12
In 2012, when I painted
the minaret宣礼塔 of JaraJara Mosque清真寺
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我响我家鄉,突尼斯嘅加貝斯
00:17
in my hometown家鄉 of Gab大隻講és,
in the south of Tunisia突尼斯,
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幫哈拉清真寺髹油嗰陣
從來都冇諗過
00:19
I never thought that graffiti塗鴉 would bring
so much attention注意 to a city城市.
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塗鴉可以令咁多人關注一個城市
00:25
At the beginning初時, I was just looking
for a wall in my hometown家鄉,
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我最初純粹想喺鄉下搵一幅牆
無意間得知
00:29
and it happened發生 that the minaret宣礼塔
was built建立 in '94.
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呢座尖塔自 1994 年起好之後
00:33
And for 18 years, those 57 meters
of concrete混凝土 stayed grey灰色.
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幅 57 米高嘅石屎牆
18 年嚟都冇粉飾過
我第一次同教長見面嗰時
00:38
When I met遇到 the imam伊瑪目 for the first time,
and I told him what I wanted to do,
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我講佢知我嘅諗法
00:42
he was like, "Thank God you finally最後 came,"
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佢就話:「謝天謝地,你終於嚟喇!」
佢同我講
00:44
and he told me that for years
he was waiting for somebody有人
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咁多年嚟,佢都希望有人粉飾幅牆
00:47
to do something on it.
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00:49
The most amazing驚人 thing about this imam伊瑪目
is that he didn't ask問吓 me anything --
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最正嘅係
呢個教長冇問過我任何嘢
00:53
neither a sketch素描,
or what I was going to write.
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無論係畫乜,定係我想寫乜
每次我創作塗鴉
00:57
In every work that I create創建,
I write messages消息
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我都會用一種屬於我嘅風格
01:00
with my style風格 of calligraffiticalligraffiti --
a mix混合 of calligraphy書法 and graffiti塗鴉.
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揉合咗書法同塗鴉
我會引用一啲語錄或者詩句
01:05
I use quotes報價 or poetry詩歌.
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我諗既然係座寺廟
01:08
For the minaret宣礼塔, I thought that
the most relevant相關 message消息
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寫上可蘭經經文就最啱喇
01:10
to be put on a mosque清真寺
should come from the Quran古蘭經,
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所以我揀咗呢句
01:13
so I picked this verse詩句:
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「眾人啊!
我確已從一男一女創造你們,
01:15
"Oh humankind人類, we have created創建 you
from a male男性 and a female女性,
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我使你們成為許多民族和宗族,
01:18
and made作出 you people and tribe部落,
so you may可能 know each每個 other."
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以便你們互相認識。」
呢句表達咗回教徒對世界大同嘅渴求
01:21
It was a universal普遍 call for peace和平,
tolerance寬容, and acceptance接受
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同傳媒所塑造嘅回教並唔一樣
01:25
coming from the side一邊 that we don't usually通常
portray描繪 in a good way in the media媒體.
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我好鼓舞,因為家鄉嘅人好鍾意幅塗鴉
01:29
I was amazed驚訝 to see how the local當地
community社區 reacted反應 to the painting繪畫,
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01:33
and how it made作出 them proud驕傲 to see
the minaret宣礼塔 getting得到 so much attention注意
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而各地都有報導呢幅塗鴉
01:37
from international國際 press
all around the world世界.
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令到地方嘅人引以為傲
01:41
For the imam伊瑪目, it was not
just the painting繪畫;
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對教長嚟講,呢幅唔止係塗鴉
01:43
it was really deeper更深 than that.
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背後意義深遠得多
01:45
He hoped希望 that this minaret宣礼塔 would become成為
a monument紀念碑 for the city城市,
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教長希望尖塔可以
代表到呢個城市
吸引人到訪呢個
被遺忘嘅突尼斯小城
01:48
and attract吸引 people
to this forgotten唔記得 place地方 of Tunisia突尼斯.
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01:52
The universality普遍性 of the message消息,
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塗鴉所盛載嘅信念
01:54
the political政治 context上下文
of Tunisia突尼斯 at this time,
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突尼斯而家嘅局勢
同埋我嘅可蘭經塗鴉
01:57
and the fact事實 that I was writing寫作
Quran古蘭經 in a graffiti塗鴉 way
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全部都意義重大
02:00
were not insignificant微不足道.
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因為佢哋將人凝聚起嚟
02:02
It reunited團聚 the community社區.
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02:05
Bringing people, future未來 generations,
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我好想帶領群眾同下一代
02:08
together一起 through透過 Arabic阿拉伯文 calligraphy書法
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一齊領略阿拉伯文嘅書法
02:11
is what I do.
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02:13
Writing寫作 messages消息 is
the essence本質 of my artwork藝術品.
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文字訊息係我創作嘅精髓
有趣嘅係
02:16
What is funny有趣, actually講真, is that
even Arabic-speaking讲阿拉伯語 people
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連講阿拉伯話嘅人
02:20
really need to focus重點 a lot
to decipher破譯 what I'm writing寫作.
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都要花時間思考我寫嘅訊息
即使睇唔明,亦可以心領神會
02:24
You don't need to know
the meaning意義 to feel the piece一塊.
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02:28
I think that Arabic阿拉伯文 script腳本 touches觸動
your soul靈魂 before it reaches達到 your eyes眼睛.
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我諗阿拉伯文字就係未見其字
就已經可以同我哋嘅靈魂接觸
當中嘅美麗,超越一切語言
02:31
There is a beauty in it
that you don't need to translate翻譯.
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02:35
Arabic阿拉伯文 script腳本 speaks to anyone任何人, I believe;
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阿拉伯嘅文字會向人說話
向你,向你,向你,向所有人
02:37
to you, to you, to you, to anybody任何人,
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當你掌握到段文字嘅意思
02:41
and then when you get the meaning意義,
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02:43
you feel connected連接 to it.
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你會馬上心領神會
02:45
I always make sure to write messages消息
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我次次髹油都同自己講
寫嘅訊息要同個地方有關
02:47
that are relevant相關 to the place地方
where I'm painting繪畫,
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但同時要關乎整個世界
02:50
but messages消息 that have
a universal普遍 dimension維度,
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以至全世界嘅人都有所共鳴
02:53
so anybody任何人 around the world世界
can connect連接 to it.
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02:56
I was born出生 and raised提出 in France法國, in Paris巴黎,
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我喺巴黎出世同長大
我 18 歲嗰年開始學阿拉伯文
02:59
and I started初時 learning學習 how to write
and read Arabic阿拉伯文 when I was 18.
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03:03
Today今日 I only write messages消息 in Arabic阿拉伯文.
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而家我只會用阿拉伯文創作
03:07
One of the reasons原因
this is so important重要 to me,
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呢種堅持之所以咁重要
係源於各地嘅人向我表達過嘅感受
03:10
is because of all the reaction反應 that
I've experienced經歷 all around the world世界.
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喺里約熱內盧
03:15
In Rio力拓 de Janeiro里約熱內盧, I translated目標語言
this Portuguese葡萄牙文 poem
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我翻譯過一篇
詩人 Gabriela Tôrres Barbosa 嘅詩
03:19
from Gabriela加芙rresrres Barbosa巴布沙,
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詩歌頌揚貧民窟嘅人
03:21
who was giving an homage敬意
to the poor可憐 people of the favela貧民窟,
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然後我將呢首詩寫咗喺天棚
03:24
and then I painted it on the rooftop屋頂.
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03:27
The local當地 community社區 were really
intrigued感興趣 by what I was doing,
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當地人初初唔明我做緊乜
03:30
but as soon好快 as I gave them
the meaning意義 of the calligraphy書法,
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但當我解釋咗首詩畀佢哋聽
佢哋好感動
03:33
they thanked多謝 me, as they felt覺得
connected連接 to the piece一塊.
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因為覺得有所共鳴
喺南非開普敦嘅菲歷彼貧民窟
03:38
In South Africa非洲, in Cape Town,
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03:40
the local當地 community社區 of Philippi
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裡面唯一嘅石屎牆,
就係學校嘅外牆
03:43
offered提供 me the only
concrete混凝土 wall of the slum貧民窟.
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03:46
It was a school學校, and I wrote on it
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我寫咗一句曼德拉嘅名言
03:49
a quote報價 from Nelson尼爾森 Mandela曼德拉,
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03:50
saying, "[in Arabic阿拉伯文],"
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就係「 [ 阿拉伯文 ] 」
意思係「人成功前,總認定會失敗」
03:53
which means意味着, "It seems好似
impossible冇可能 until直到 it's done."
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然係有個人走嚟問︰
03:56
Then this guy came to me and said,
"Man, why you don't write in English英文?"
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「做乜唔用英文寫啫?」
04:00
and I replied回答 to him, "I would consider諗緊
your concern關注 legit合法 if you asked問吓 me
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我就答佢:「我會聽你講嘅,
如果你係問我
點解唔用祖魯文寫嘅話。」
04:04
why I didn't write in Zulu祖魯文."
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巴黎曾經有一個活動
04:06
In Paris巴黎, once一旦, there was this event事件,
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有個人想人哋為佢髹牆
04:09
and someone有人 gave his wall to be painted.
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04:14
And when he saw I was painting繪畫 in Arabic阿拉伯文,
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當佢見我喺牆上
用阿拉伯文字塗鴉嘅時候
佢成個人癲咗,失控咁滯
04:16
he got so mad -- actually講真, hysterical歇斯底里 --
and he asked問吓 for the wall to be erased刪除.
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並且要求鏟走幅塗鴉
04:20
I was mad and disappointed失望.
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嗰刻我又嬲又失望
過咗一個禮拜,統籌單位叫我返去
04:22
But a week later之後, the organizer組織者
of the event事件 asked問吓 me to come back,
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04:26
and he told me that there was a wall
right in front前面 of this guy's友嘅 house房子.
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話我知嗰個人間屋係對住一幅牆
所以,呢個人…
04:30
So, this guy --
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04:31
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:33
like, was forced to see it every day.
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就被逼日日對住幅塗鴉
起初,我喺幅牆度寫 [ 阿拉伯文 ]
04:35
At the beginning初時, I was going
to write, "[In Arabic阿拉伯文],"
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04:38
which means意味着, "In your face塊面," but --
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即係解「就喺你面前」
(笑聲)
04:40
(Laughter笑聲)
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之後我靈機一觸
04:42
I decided決定 to be smarter
and I wrote, "[In Arabic阿拉伯文],"
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寫咗做「[ 阿拉伯文 ]」
解「打開心扉」
04:46
which means意味着, "Open打開 your heart."
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04:49
I'm really proud驕傲 of my culture文化,
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我為我嘅文化而自豪
我希望用藝術去宣揚我嘅文化
04:52
and I'm trying試圖 to be an ambassador大使
of it through透過 my artwork藝術品.
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04:57
And I hope希望 that I can break打破
the stereotypes定型 we all know,
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我希望借助美麗嘅阿拉伯文字
去打破大家嘅成見
05:02
with the beauty of Arabic阿拉伯文 script腳本.
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05:05
Today今日, I don't write the translation翻譯
of the message消息 anymore on the wall.
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今日,我唔再喺牆上翻譯我嘅文字
05:11
I don't want the poetry詩歌
of the calligraphy書法 to be broken破碎,
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我唔想破壞書法同詩歌嘅美
詩係藝術,唔需要言明,亦感悟得到
05:14
as it's art藝術 and you can appreciate欣賞 it
without knowing the meaning意義,
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05:18
as you can enjoy享受 any music音樂
from other countries國家.
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正如我哋會聽唔同語言嘅音樂一樣
05:21
Some people see that
as a rejection拒絕 or a closed關閉 door,
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有人認為咁樣係製造緊隔膜
但我反而覺得係一個邀請
05:25
but for me, it's more an invitation邀請 --
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邀請大家去體會我嘅母語、文化同創作
05:27
to my language語言,
to my culture文化, and to my art藝術.
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05:31
Thank you.
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多謝!
05:32
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Clement Cheung
Reviewed by Chak Lam Wan

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
eL Seed - Artist
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.

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."

More profile about the speaker
eL Seed | Speaker | TED.com