Tunisian-French artist eL Seed took the TED stage to share how he is perfecting the art of calligraphy and graffiti, one city at a time.
With a passion and talent for beautifying poor and neglected neighborhoods with art, eL Seed decided to do exactly that in Egypt's Manshiyat Naser, a city known for its Garbage City quarter.
eL Seed wanted to work on something different than all his other projects. He decided to challenge himself and paint something that is spread across several buildings, 50 to be exact. His work of art can only be seen in full from the Mokattam hills.
As with all his works of art, eL Seed always manages to send messages by blending some Arabic calligraphy into the mix.
The 50 building mural features a quote in Arabic by Coptic Bishop Saint Athanasius of Alexandria who said, “Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first.”
After a year of planning and logistics, the work of art came to life.
It's not the first time the artist talks about his art on TED.
In 2012, El Seed skillfully completed a massive art piece in Gabes, Tunisia. The design on the 47-meter minaret on the Jara mosque was created to send a message of unity between both cultures he has lived in.