eL Seed challenges cultural perceptions with city-scale anamorphic art in cairo

eL Seed challenges cultural perceptions with city-scale anamorphic art in cairo
all images courtesy of eL Seed

in an effort to challenge preconceived notions about cultures and communities, ‘calligraffiti’ artist eL Seed has realized ‘perception’ in the neighborhood of manshiyat nasr in cairo. the installation has been set in the coptic community of zaraeeb — a place known for collecting trash in the city, and for developing an efficient and profitable recycling system for it. despite its ingenuity and essentiality, the town and its inhabitants are commonly perceived as dirty, and are often marginalized and belittled by outside areas.

the anamorphic piece spans across 50 buildings in the community of zaraeeb 

blending the historic art of arabic calligraphy and the contemporary style of graffiti, ‘perception’ sheds light on the architectural and cultural aspects of this community by illustrating an anamorphic piece across 50 of its buildings. only completely visible from a specific point on the mokattam mountain, the painting spans the urban-scale of zaraeeb, inscribed on residential building façades and rooftops. the piece spells out the words of saint athanasius of alexandria, a coptic bishop from the 3rd century, who 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’

through its play of optical perception, the artwork stresses the idea that changing your point of view can greatly affect what you can fully see.

the piece can only be fully revealed from a certain vantage point 

‘the zaraeeb community welcomed my team and I as if we were family,’ eL Seed says. ‘it was one of the most amazing human experiences I have ever had. they are generous, honest and strong people. they have been given the name of zabaleen (the garbage people), but this is not how they call themselves. they don’t live in the garbage but from the garbage; and not their garbage, but the garbage of the whole city. they are the ones who clean the city of cairo.’

the artwork illustrates the quote ‘anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first’

the artist collaborated with his own team and members of the local community

the artwork blends the historic art of arabic calligraphy and the contemporary style of graffiti

the artwork challenges preconceived notions about cultures and communities 

the original sketch that became the starting point for the installation