eL Seed creates an impressive Arabic calligraphy in his customary colorful graffiti style, a message of peace and an invitation to shine light and bring a new perception of one of the most segregated communities in Cairo—that of the Zaraeeb (known as al-Zabbaleen) in Manshiyat Naser, a district of Cairo, Egypt.
The artist and TED Fellow's moving presentation at TEDEX, reveals his most ambitious project to date,
a mural painted across 50 buildings, that can only be fully seen from the mountain monastery and church of Saint Semaan.
Have a look at the video and be inspired!
Quoting from el-Seed's blog about his project he writes:
In my new project ‘Perception’ I am questioning the level of judgment and misconception society can unconsciously have upon a community based on their differences.
In the neighborhood of Manshiyat Nasr in Cairo, the Coptic community of Zaraeeb collects the trash of the city for decades and developed the most efficient and highly profitable recycling system on a global level. Still, the place is perceived as dirty, marginalized and segregated.
To bring light on this community, with my team and the help of the local community, I created an anamorphic piece that covers almost 50 buildings only visible from a certain point of the Moqattam Mountain.
The piece of art uses the words of Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, a Coptic Bishop from the 3rd century, that said:
‘Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first.’
‘إن أراد أحد أن يبصر نور الشمس، فإن عليه أن يمسح عينيه’
//For more information about this project and other works by el Seed, please visit his official website by clicking here.
