T H E C A I R O E X H I B I T I O N
O p enin g R ece p tion 6 December 2016 6 to 9 pm E xhibition 6 December 2016 - 10 January 2017
N a w a r t u n a ! By Fatenn Mostafa
Figure 1 – Perception mural spanning across 50 buildings in Manshiyat Nasr, Cairo, Egypt by eL Seed. Courtesy eL Seed.
On March 15, 2016, a mind-blowing picture went viral on social media. It showed a view of dispersed rooftops in a seemingly underprivileged and crowded city. And right in the middle was some monumental public art installation, uniting more than 50 building façades to create a surreal flying canvas. The picture turned out to be taken in the city of Cairo. The artist behind the black, white, turquoise, and ochre stunning work was eL Seed, a celebrated international artist. In his instantly recognizable, extravagant signature style, the 35-year old artist, had created his most ambitious project yet.
The massive project, which was kept secret during the 3-week execution and was entirely self-funded, had taken place in an unusual and shunned neighborhood called Manshiyat Nasr, commonly known amongst Cairo-locals as the area of ‘el zabaleen’ – literally meaning ‘garbage collectors’ and connoting ‘garbage people’ in Arabic. For decades, a community of predominantly Coptic Egyptians (98%) have lived and worked there, collecting the trash of the city and in the process developed the most efficient and highly profitable recycling system on a global level.
Figure 2 – Manshiyat Nasr before eL Seed’s transformation.. Courtesy eL Seed.
And yet, despite the fundamental necessity in keeping the glorious city clean and the pioneering results in recycling 80% of the garbage collected, the area and its inhabitants are perceived as dirty and are marginalized and segregated. The antagonistic feeling of ‘repulsed necessity’ or ‘unappreciated servicing’ appealed to eL Seed as a social outreach project aimed towards changing Perception and of-
fering due respect for others. As it turned out, the anamorphic gigantic mural quoted Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, a revered Coptic Bishop from the 3rd century, when he said: ‘Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first.’إن أراد أحــد أن فإن عليه أن ميســح عينيه،’يبرص نور الشــمس.
Figure 3 - eL Seed with his team and members of the local community working on the mural. Courtesy eL Seed.
To bring light on this community, eL Seed and his team with the generous help of the local community visually merged more than 50 buildings, the result of which is best or only visible from a certain point of the nearby Moqattam Mountain. The light eL Seed brought onto Cairo’s zabaleen ultimately transformed eL Seed on the personal level. “All those buildings were just numbers: building number 1, number 2, number 6, 18, 29… But by the end, all those buildings were associated with families. This is the house of Uncle Ibrahim, this is the house of Uncle Bakheet. I’d never received this kind of welcome anywhere in the world.”
Figure 5 - eL Seed and his team seen painting one of the buildings and a young boy plays in the foreground. Courtesy eL Seed.
Days after the picture went viral, the international press from The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, and the BBC rushed to celebrate eL Seed’s aesthetic transformation and call for tolerance. In Egypt however, the wall(s) was nearly lost – luckily overlooked by the authorities, sadly un-heard of by the public at large. The Embassy of Egypt in Washington DC (USA) however had taken notice and tweeted the picture saying: “We’re totally amazed this morning by @elseedart’s newest project in Manshiyat Nasr in Cairo. See for yourself.’
Figure 6 - Screenshot of Embassy of Egypt USA tweet on March 15, 2016
Figure 4 - A young boy from the community looks at the final outcome of eL Seed Perception project. Courtesy eL Seed.
Today and after two years of trial and error to bring him over for a show, we present eL Seed to the Egyptian public and offer him our invitation as a token of appreciation. His Cairo show at our gallery builds around the noble Manshiyat Nasr project of Perception and will showcase a series of works on canvas and lithographs, inspired by his memorable experience with the people of Cairo and the kindness and generosity Egyptians are notoriously known for.
Figure 4 - A young boy from the community looks at the final outcome of eL Seed Perception project. Courtesy eL Seed.
But more importantly perhaps, we want to let eL Seed know that we saw. That we appreciate. That we understand. The white of the letters on Manshiyat Nasr’s walls is a fluorescent/glow in the dark paint. With some black light projectors, it lights up the whole neighborhood at night, shining light on a neglected, yet oh so indispensable community. In return, we want to tell eL Seed and his team one word that by now must be deeply seated in their vocabulary: Nawartuna! (‘you brought light to us’).
Born in Paris in 1981, eL Seed’s intricate calligraphic compositions call not only on the words and their meaning but also on their movement, which ultimately lures the viewer into a different state of mind. Working primarily with subjects that seem contradictory, eL Seed’s art reflects the reality of mankind and the world we live in today. eL Seed installed his work on public spaces, galleries and institutions on every continent. From the streets of Paris or New York, to the Favelas of Rio Di Janeiro or the slums of Cape Town, his contemporary approach aims to bring people, culture and generations together. Interestingly, ‘eL Seed’ is a pseudo-name that was inspired at the age of 16 by ‘Le Cid’ (meaning ‘the Lord’ in medieval Spain), a five-act tragicomedy written by one of the great seventeenth-century French dramatists Pierre Corneille in 1636.
“ Anyone who wants to see the light clearly needs to wipe “ his eyes first. Figure 8 - eL Seed in front of one his exhibited paintings at ArtTalks Gallery
Manar 2016, Acrylic on canvas 150 x 100 cm
The House of Uncle Bakheet 2016, Acrylic on canvas Triptych, 120 x 90 cm each
Samaan 2016, Acrylic on white paper BFK Rives - 300 g 76 x 116 cm
The House of Uncle Musa 2016, Acrylic on canvas Diptych, 200 x 120 cm
Sandy 2016, Acrylic on canvas 150 x 100 cm
The House of Uncle Braheem 2016, Acrylic on canvas Triptych, 120 x 90 cm
Abou Aata 2016, Acrylic on canvas 150 x 100 cm
Mario 1 and Mario 2 2016, Acrylic on canvas Diptych, 170 x 120 cm
Abanoub 2016, Acrylic on canvas 150 x 100 cm
Uncle Fawzi 2016, 7 colors lithography printed on Mariononi machine White paper BFK rives - 300gr 76 x 116 cm
8 El Kamel Mohamed Street, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt +202 2736 3948 info@arttalks.com www.arttalks.com
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Catalogue Published on the occasion of the show eL Seed 6 December 2016 - 10 January 2017 ArtTalks | Egypt Text Fatenn Mostafa Photographs eL Seed
Graphic Concept & Realization Omar Mobarek Coordinators Lisa Lounis Cherine Chafik Riham Samir Printing Concorde Press