Last week he was making his mark on Ajman, but this week famed Dubai-based artist and calligrapher eL Seed is giving Paris the love in a new exhibition that opens in the French capital tonight (Tuesday, July 11).
A collection of work from the multi-talented artist will be unveiled at Le Royal Monceau-Raffles Paris this evening and will available for viewing until August 26 in the hotel’s La Librairie des Arts Gallery.
eL Seed, who is of Franco-Tunisian descent, is expected to treat those in attendance to a live performance at tonight’s opening of Love Paris, an exhibition in which he aims to highlight Paris, its elegance and romanticism.
The show, which is available for viewing every week from Tuesday to Saturday between the hours of 11.30am and 7pm, includes a series of eL Seed's intricate pieces featuring Arabic calligraphy, which draw on the word’s meanings while incorporating movement.
Just last week, as reported in The National, he was giving Ajman the eL Seed treatment, similar to the treatment he has given the emirates of Sharjah and Dubai in the past.
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eL Seed visited the Star War's film set and after taking permission from a sleepy security guard, took a black spray can and wrote on one of the walls in beautiful Arabic calligraphy “I will never be your son,” leaving the cultural reference as self-explanatory. Courtesy El Seed -
eL Seed, a Tunisian graffiti artist, is in Dubai for a year-long residency at Tashkeel in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National -
eL Seed was born and raised in Paris and later relocated to Montreal. Antonie Robertson / The National -
eL Seed’s book Lost Walls is set to be released later this year. Antonie Robertson / The National -
eL Seed became well known in 2012 when he painted the minaret tower of a mosque in the town of Gabès. For the project, which was supported by Sharjah’s Barjeel Foundation, he chose a verse from the Quran and painted in his own style of distinctive calligraffiti. -
Provided image of EL SEEDThe shape of the city changes faster the heart of a human being, 2013Acrylic on canvas74.8 x 51.2 in / 190 x 130 cm Courtesy Ouahid Berrehouma / itinerrance GALLERY for review Sept 21 -
Calligraphy work by eL Seed on display at the Louis Vuitton showroom in Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
eL Seed never signs his name with his work. “I own the space while I am doing the wall but afterwards I leave it for the public. The focus is not on me, it is on the content of the message,” he said. Pawan Singh / The National -
Photos of El Seed from his upcoming book, Lost Walls. This is in Tunisia. CREDIT: Courtesy El Seed -
Photos of El Seed from his upcoming book, Lost Walls. at work spray painting in Tunisia. CREDIT: Courtesy El Seed -
Photos of El Seed from his upcoming book, Lost Walls. This is in Douz, Tunisia. CREDIT: Courtesy El Seed -
Photos of El Seed from his upcoming book, Lost Walls. This is in Tunisia. CREDIT: Courtesy El Seed -
Photos of El Seed from his upcoming book, Lost Walls. This is in Tunisia. CREDIT: Courtesy El Seed
Ajman joined a growing list of international locations that can boast a major work by the artist including Paris, New York, Cape Town and Melbourne.
eL Seed completed his first public UAE-based project on an abandoned building on Sharjah's Bank Street in 2015 as part of a public art initiative, Jedariya (Arabic for walls), that was launched by the Maraya Art Centre.
His second public UAE-based installation, which features a poem, Positive Spirit, was completed on the walls of The Green Planet at Dubai's City Walk in Dubai at the end of 2016.
For more on his Love Paris exhibition go to www.leroyalmonceau.com/
