- 13 hours ago
From Dubai to New York, via Tunisia, this documentary follows the journey of graffiti artist eL Seed through his projects, commissions, and exhibitions. Behind the works, multiple facets of the artist emerge in each location visited: in Dubai, in his studio with his team; in Tunisia, during the presentation of his film in Gabès, the city of his parents; in New York at the MoMA for the presentation of his book Perception on invitation from Glenn Lowry; in Amsterdam, with an installation at the Tropenmuseum; in London, where he is scheduled to exhibit in January 2019; and finally in Paris, where he grew up.
A few months in the life of a man in constant motion and always in demand, the documentary explores the many facets of eL Seed—from rediscovering his Tunisian roots to his rise as an artist, culminating in the worldwide recognition of his work.
A few months in the life of a man in constant motion and always in demand, the documentary explores the many facets of eL Seed—from rediscovering his Tunisian roots to his rise as an artist, culminating in the worldwide recognition of his work.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00motionless its choreography balances its own shapes and curves pleasing to the eye it speaks
00:09to the soul and envelops it in the comforting touch of its elegant design an invitation to
00:14visit diverse cultures and peoples in a dance carrying with it the memories of a generation
00:20a breath
00:30this is the green planet i never came back here just this once a couple of weeks ago
00:44i actually did this at the end of 2016 over two years ago it was supposed to take me two weeks
00:50but it took longer than that i threw a can of paint at the guy who was tearing the machine
00:55the machine wasn't working and from the console down here he was trying to get me back down
01:00he tilted the machine 60 degrees he couldn't hear me as i was shouting at him
01:06so to get him to stop i hurled a can of paint at him but i wasn't aiming for him just to the side
01:12i always write in the names of my wife and my children and normally if you sit somewhere and
01:19look at it under a certain angle you can just make out the reflection just underneath afterwards
01:25i covered it in paint i'm just trying to see if i can see their names somewhere
01:55dubai is a stopover in my life
02:07i know i won't live out the rest of my days here but it's been an important stepping stone in my
02:11journey as an artist i got here in 2013 to do an artistic residency in tashkil which is a sort of
02:22an artistic and cultural hub i stayed there a little over a year and that was where i started developing
02:29my sculptures i remember sheikh latifa who runs tashkil telling me i want you to come do your residency
02:38with us but when you're done with that i want you to come out with something that you've never done
02:43before so she basically challenged me and i had the idea for this sculpture already i did a pop-up
02:49temporary exhibition called declaration which is a sort of declaration of love to the arabic language
02:55actually indirectly it's also a declaration of love to my wife that exhibition lasted for five weeks
03:03after which we tore everything down and that's how i began developing my sculptures
03:17in the middle east has a very important history and perhaps a more embraced history than graffiti does
03:28in north america which is always seen as defacing something and for el cid i don't think it's ever
03:35about defacing it's actually about creating and doing something that leaves a trace in the place
03:41but also with the people involved in the project
04:11i'm flattered and even more so honored to have a piece in front of the burj khalifa
04:35it's the symbol of dubai i made plenty of memories i certainly remember how difficult it was
04:41when you look at the project this was my first installation my first sculpture exhibited in the
04:46public space i know a lot of people only look at the end result but it was hard but you forget every
04:53single issue once you're done and i'm consistently aware of it i do gripe during the project and the
05:00stress levels certainly go up you start losing patience some things don't work out that adds to all the
05:08stress not just for me but for the whole team but you know that once you're done you forget all of
05:14it and you just take it on as being part and parcel of the project if everything was easy
05:20you wouldn't take satisfaction from the end result besides that's part of the challenge too if
05:30everything had gone as planned i don't imagine i'd hold the work as near and dear as i do today
05:45well i'm very impressed with el cid and his work i've known about him for several years but i didn't
05:51get to meet him until i think two or three years ago and what impresses me is the way in which he
05:56engages the communities around him his projects are really interventions and you could even think of
06:04them almost as performances where he really thinks about how to look at an area look at a group of
06:12people look at a problem intervene with his calligraphic graffiti and then transform the way a community
06:23thinks about itself of course what he did in cairo is perhaps the most important work he's done to date
06:29but it's typical of the way he functions which is to use his own journey of discovery as a means of
06:37engaging people around him and i think he's very good at that he's got an ebullient personality
06:45he's interested in other people he knows how to mobilize colleagues and friends to help him but most
06:51importantly he knows how to think about the way in which art can galvanize a conversation within a community
06:59i only started working with canvases afterwards and more because of other people i started getting
07:26requests if i happen to be at painting out in the street people were asking me can we have a painting
07:33that took a life of its own and you can see my progress i can show you paintings from four or
07:37five years ago and you see just how different the lines are the shapes of the letters as well
07:42the progress is obvious to the naked eye but it was all completely organic besides sometimes i try my
07:48hand at variations i've got a bit of an established style now and it's what makes people recognize me
07:54but that means things are becoming a reflex and when that happens i feel like things start being done
07:59by rote okay
08:29so
08:36you
08:38you
08:40you
08:42and so I'm trying to look for that
09:11innocence
09:15I believe that's the most important aspect
09:19when you first start painting
09:21something very innocent and naive
09:23takes over you and comes across
09:25in your works and I
09:27sometimes try to reclaim that aspect
09:29there was at the start
09:31I still have the spark
09:33thank God, I think you keep the spark
09:35going by working on projects that are
09:37out of the ordinary, besides for me
09:40the spark is like a little
09:41flame that grows smaller and smaller
09:43if I leave too long
09:45a time in between projects
09:47I feel it weighing over me
09:49like a need to get another project started
09:51today I'm beginning to realize that my art and my practice have become like a pretext
10:03that enables me to enter certain places where no one can go
10:09it's not the work itself that's remarkable
10:11I believe what's remarkable is the experience that builds up around the piece
10:14I don't do mass production either I don't like doing things just for the heck of it
10:21it's important to enjoy yourself but there needs to be a meaning behind it all
10:25if someone were to say to me I'm such a huge fan of your golden paintings or your pink paintings
10:30that's not going to get me to paint 200 of them
10:32just so I can tell myself that I know this works and that it's something I can sell
10:35that's not what I'm about
10:36that's not what I'm about
10:37that's not what I'm about
10:38that's not what I'm about
10:39that's not what I'm about
10:40that's not what I'm about
10:41when someone were to say to me I'm such a huge fan of your golden paintings or your pink paintings
10:45that's not going to get me to paint 200 of them
10:48just so I can tell myself that I know this works and that it's something I can sell
10:52that's not what I'm about
10:54what I'm doing here is
11:12rewriting something I'd written back in London or rather Cambridge
11:18a couple of months back
11:23it's a quote from an English poetess
11:27I believe her name is Rebecca Thompson Forrest
11:34that says follow the reader as well as the writer
11:45and the funny thing about this phrase is that
11:49it shows you that as an artist
11:52you create because you have an audience in front of you that's standing ready to look at your work
11:58that's my personal take on it
12:00a writer will write because he knows there's someone out there who will read that
12:08a chef honestly I believe a chef cooking at home just makes himself some pasta
12:17some people tell me there are artists that create for no one but themselves
12:20I don't agree
12:21because if you only create for yourself and there's no one else to see it
12:25you're not going to go around calling yourself an artist
12:27one way or another you do want people to know you're an artist
12:30so you always position yourself in relation to others
12:34I like that quote because it puts the reader before the writer and I find that significant
12:38I know that if I'm creating pieces today and if most of my work is street art
12:42it's because I want my work to be seen and I need to garner a reaction
12:47positive or negative
12:50you want to get a reaction
12:52if no one reacts to your art I feel like that's a let down
12:55that's just the way I personally see things
12:57that's just the way I personally see things
13:12I see a little bit of a talkingơst
13:27you
13:29you
13:33that's
14:35The Tropen Museum has positioned itself as the People's Museum.
14:41There is an exhibition on Africa, an exhibition on Indonesia.
14:47Down that way, there is an exhibition on slavery.
14:50So it's all about the various peoples and their history.
14:53That makes it more of a historical museum.
14:55I'm glad my work could get slotted into that approach.
15:01I think there's also a huge Arab community in the Netherlands.
15:06So this might be their way of trying to create a connection with that community.
15:11I'm trying to use my work to forge a connection with the world.
15:16And I know the work I've done in non-Arab countries has allowed me to build strong relationships
15:21with people who had nothing at all to do with my culture.
15:23Yeah, I've managed to create strong relationships with people who had nothing at all to do with my culture.
15:29I'm sorry.
15:59They asked me to create a piece, an installation that, as you can see, we're painting right
16:09now, which is going to be a room that's going to be exhibited here at the museum for five
16:17years. People are going to be able to come in here. My work is going to be enveloping
16:22this whole space, and they'll be exhibiting a part of their collection in here too.
16:28The installation will comprise an interactive side with the screen that's going to be set
16:32up over there, so that people can try and reproduce my work. One time I wrote a verse
16:37from the Koran, I was in Gabes, it was a mosque, so I thought it was appropriate. But over
16:43here, I thought about it, and it just wasn't clicking for me. So instead, I wrote a poem
16:48myself, and these are actually my words I'm transposing into calligraphy.
16:55He starts by setting up his working plan, and he more or less has an idea of the colors
17:18he wants to use. He has several color codes. For example, today's project is predominantly
17:24blue, except of course that blue needs some variation. You can't keep everything to the
17:29same shade of blue. So we opted for about three or four shades of blue here, which we can array
17:35depending on what he's looking for his end result to be. For example, he can add depth to a blue shade
17:41in one spot by contrasting it with some orange or some yellow. He does that to create a certain effect.
17:48His style has definitely evolved. When I met Fauzi, he was using acrylic paint markers,
17:53but he started out as a graffiti artist. Bit by bit, he grew as a graffiti artist,
17:59then he added Arabic calligraphy to his style.
18:05Fauzi is very caring. I think these types of projects are his way of trying to connect
18:10with people, maybe in a bid for personal fulfillment. I think Fauzi and I work well together because
18:19he's also a friend, and things are different when you work with a friend. You want to do
18:24right by your friend, and that makes you give it your best.
18:29I was supposed to be doing something completely different.
18:56Unfortunately, the materials I wanted to use were out of stock, so I had to go to Plan B.
19:05That was why it was on the floor. Having the characters up right completely changes their dynamic,
19:11so the idea is for the poem to start here, loop around and finish here somewhere.
19:18There are a few letters left to connect, but you have this sense of motion, so you come into the room and you go on that journey.
19:24I'm feeling the pressure a bit, but it's always like that.
19:31I haven't even had the time to visit Amsterdam. It's funny because whenever I go somewhere, I spend all my time painting,
19:37creating what I need to be creating, and then I'm off again.
19:40It's a good atmosphere all the same. The setting is amazing, it's great being here, and after 5pm there's no one left here, so the atmosphere is pretty special.
19:52The way I work is very spontaneous, which makes it hard to plan out.
19:56Besides, even when I do plan things out, there's always something that changes at the last minute,
20:01sort of like what I was saying about what I wanted to write.
20:04I decided to write a poem, and that's what I ended up putting on the walls.
20:08Even if they didn't make a big deal out of that, they were cool with the idea.
20:11I can tell you that putting a piece like this together 10 years ago would have taken me 10 days, but the hand has developed some muscle memories,
20:18some things are reflexive, and you learn to visualize.
20:21I've also crafted these kinds of pieces at a smaller scale in my studio, and I've also painted them at a far, far bigger scale on murals,
20:28where I painted a kind of circle.
20:30I think we can stick to the schedule, I hope so. I'm going to focus on putting down all the black, and we'll take a look after.
20:37I hope Kamal will be done on time, then we'll add the finishing touches at the end.
20:44Our challenge yesterday was to make sure that the last letter of the poem ended up next to the first letter,
20:48so it could complete a perfect circle, which it does.
20:58I actually had to remove a little something yesterday, but aside from that, it lines up just right, which is great.
21:07We'll get it done.
21:12We'll get it done.
21:37We'll get it done.
21:38We'll get it done.
21:39We'll get it done.
21:42We'll get it done.
21:43I painted that in June 2014.
22:09I remember it took me twice as long as the six days I'd initially planned out, because
22:16buddies and cousins of mine would keep passing by, so I'd keep coming down from the cradle
22:20to go grab a coffee across the way.
22:25So that was why.
22:26And the funny thing is they unveiled the piece before I could finish it.
22:29The Arab World Institute had put together a whole event and the piece wasn't done, but
22:33the guests had shown up and they started taking photos.
22:41I remember one evening, I was all the way up there, and one of my cousins was driving
22:45by.
22:46He saw me in the distance and he honked and called out, Fawzi!
22:49He ended up doing a U-turn.
22:51He was… that shirt was me.
22:52At the end of the day, I try to detach myself from my work.
22:59Once a piece is done, I put it out of my mind and I accept to see it's gone.
23:06It's fantastic if it happens to stick around.
23:08It's always great to come back and be able to see one of your works.
23:12It's an interesting experience.
23:13I've learned to break off from my works.
23:16Besides, it's funny coming back to something, because you start to spot all these little
23:19mistakes, things you wouldn't do now.
23:22If I were to do that at Wall today, to do it a second time, there's so much stuff I wouldn't
23:26do the same way.
23:27The letters look kind of closely packed, I don't know.
23:32But I guess my gaze has changed too.
23:36But it looks good.
23:37I like it.
23:39Looking at it, you can tell that a lot of work went into it with the black contouring
23:43and it was a bit of a hassle.
23:46More than anything, I think you need courage.
23:49Sometimes I look at all the work we put in and I do say, oui, because I'm never alone
23:54when I'm painting.
23:55There's always someone there, a team member lending a hand.
23:57I look at it and I tell myself, something has to be just a little wrong with you, to have
24:06agreed to doing that.
24:07The first wall I ever painted was in this exact spot here.
24:13Back in the day, we used to call this the little park and it's right behind my place, where I grew up in Boulogne-Biencourt.
24:19Honestly, I couldn't tell you why it used to be called the Little Park, maybe because we're not far off from the Parc des Princes, which would make this the Little Parc des Princes.
24:26I never actually found out why it used to be called the Little Parc des Princes.
24:27Nowadays, it's called Jean-Guillon Square.
24:28While I was playing soccer with the boys somewhere in April 1998, I think they used to have a new gift to have a new gift to have a new gift to have a new gift to have a new gift to have a new gift.
24:39I never actually found out why it used to be called The Little Park.
24:44Nowadays, it's called Jean-Guillon Square.
24:49Guillon Square. While I was playing soccer with the boys somewhere in April 1998, I think I'd
24:56bought these cans of spray paint at the cheapo depot and I remember that while the match was
25:02going on I came out here and I drew a little character just here at this exact spot. Of
25:13course it got cleaned up soon after but that's not the funny bit. What's funny is what while I
25:18was painting this fencing wasn't there at the time and there used to be a lady living on the
25:22fourth floor I can't remember her name but she was Spanish so she came out on her balcony and
25:26she started shouting at me asking me what I was doing you know all what are you doing I'm gonna
25:31tell your mom and I honestly had no idea that tagging walls was illegal as far as I was concerned I'd
25:37bought my paint the wall was gray I came out here and I painted it and that was it. I didn't see it
25:42as defacing anything then later on a friend of mine called Tufique de Noon, Mais Sofine Peace,
25:50told me that sort of thing wasn't allowed that it wasn't legal and that I could even get arrested for
25:54that sort of defacement. But this spot right here is where it all began 21 years ago. I used to have a
26:04day job. I worked a lot harder as an artist but I was a consultant and it felt like that job was killing me.
26:13In a certain sense painting was what was keeping me alive.
26:20This is where I grew up and whenever I get back I get to see a lot of my relatives, my childhood friends
26:26always feel connected to this place. That said this area of Boulogne has changed a good deal. Back then
26:34the Ile Seguin was over here. My dad used to work at the Renault plant until 93 after which he left for
26:39Flint and they shut this plant down. As for me I left Paris in 2006. But look the whole point is that
26:47what I do is ephemeral by its very nature. It's okay if it doesn't last. There's a trace, there are
26:53memories that leaves behind and that's what I hold dear. What I often say is that beyond the piece itself,
27:00beyond the artistic challenges I'll give myself at times, it's all about the memories and all the
27:05stories you share with the people you meet in that neighborhood. This, back in the day, was more
27:12horseplay than anything. I'd come, I'd paint on a wall, I'd draw a character, my buddies were here playing
27:18soccer and I would write their names on. It was just silly fun. I don't have the same approach today.
27:25It's grown. I'm more on the lookout for human experiences. They're what I like best. You know,
27:30people get excited because you bring them something new. You show an interest in their neighborhood.
27:34They may not get to live through something exciting there every day. So it's a way for you to share
27:38in more human experiences, to live through more human stories. And you're on the receiving end of
27:43so much more human warmth when you head out to these more isolated or marginalized neighborhoods.
27:48This one isn't mine.
28:18Oh,
28:19Oh,
28:19I got to go.
28:24Good.
28:30Oh,
28:31oh,
28:46Oh,
28:47When my grandfather died in 86,
29:17maybe 96, I can't really remember,
29:20my grandmother moved.
29:22We used to live there,
29:23in what they call the Malaji,
29:24and the house is actually abandoned.
29:26And we came back here in 2013,
29:28when I was doing my Lost Walls project,
29:30I came here to paint.
29:32We called the whole family out,
29:33my cousins, my aunts, my uncles,
29:35and my dad, and my mom were here too,
29:37of course.
29:39I painted it over,
29:41and it's funny to see what's become of it.
29:47La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La
30:17Yes, I'd like to get some kind of pictures in there and it was the end of the day.
30:21I'm leaving the bed for a while during the evening.
30:24He was at the beach and then he had to go to the beach.
30:28I'll jump to the beach and then I'll come back and make some kind of a drink.
30:31He's leaving the beach.
30:32He's coming home now.
30:34He's leaving his walk.
30:36An fresh because of the tunnel.
30:37I'm a nice little old as I can.
30:39Go on, son.
30:42You could use it?
30:42Yeah.
30:43I'm a 그er.
30:44How are you?
30:45I've got a few pictures of him.
30:46What are you doing?
30:48What are you doing?
30:50I'm a sport
30:54How are you doing?
31:16Hey, how's it going?
31:18How are you doing?
31:20What are you doing?
31:22How are you doing?
31:24I'm a sport
31:26I'm a sport
31:32What are you doing?
31:34What are you doing?
31:36Thank you
31:38Thank you for your support
31:40Thank you for your support
31:42I'm a sport
31:44Worth it
31:54How are you doing?
31:56What's your sport?
31:58I came to sleep
32:00I came to sleep
32:02I came to sleep
32:04I asked for sleep
32:06I asked for your sleep
32:08You're doing experience
32:10How are you doing?
32:12This here is my parents' house, we used to spend all our summers here.
32:40So basically, all my memories of Tunisia happened here.
32:47And for the past two years, since we own a house a little farther down that way,
32:54my dad's been renting it out to a school.
32:57That's why the walls are painted like that.
32:59To be honest with you, this is the first time I'm seeing it like this.
33:02And it's giving me a funny feeling.
33:04This used to be my bedroom, that was the living room,
33:07this was my parents' bedroom, my brother's bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, second bathroom.
33:14This is the orange tree.
33:16We never got to eat the oranges because they only came out in December,
33:19I maybe tasted those oranges once.
33:22It's funny, I have photos of this tree when I was this tall.
33:26These were all my summers.
33:30Here in Taboulbou, we're just adjacent to the city of Gabès.
33:35I'm very emotionally invested, very attached to this place.
33:41I know I'd talk about it like it's a big capital city.
33:45It's no huge place, but it's near and dear to my heart.
33:48We each had our bedroom where we put all our things,
33:53but we all slept outside all the time.
33:55Or we'd sleep on the roof sometimes when the moon wasn't full.
33:58It's weird how small this seems right now.
34:02Back in the day, it really felt bigger.
34:04I don't know if right now it's because there are these swings and everything.
34:09Right, here it is.
34:10So back then, I'd scribble my name down everywhere.
34:13In the house here in the summer and then in France too.
34:15I'd scribble my name in the day's date.
34:17There's so many of these in France too,
34:191998, 1999.
34:21You can make out that I used to spell El Cid as E-L-S-C-I-D at the time.
34:26This one on August 26, 2000.
34:29This one on August 27, 1999, almost 20 years ago.
34:33Whenever I come back here, there are smells, there are sounds,
34:36there are people that are just unchanged.
34:38You know, I swing by, and even if I haven't been around for 10 years,
34:42these guys, it's funny, they're just part of this place.
34:45They think I'm a doctor.
34:47That's why the kids were scared earlier.
34:50Hey.
34:51Have you seen me?
34:52Have you seen me?
34:53No.
34:54No, no.
34:55What's your name?
34:57What's your name?
34:58What's your name?
35:00How you came from, Elis?
35:01I'm the before, Elis.
35:02Good.
35:03Good.
35:04How you're doing, Elis.
35:06You're good, Elis.
35:08Then you waste your train of time now.
35:18My mom is from a town called Domazil on the road to Madmata.
35:23My dad is from a small village called Tamoula, and he actually built his house here in Taboulbou.
35:29My dad left Tunisia somewhere in 68, so it's a good while back, 50 years, or just 50 exactly.
35:36My parents really made sure that we had links to Tunisia.
35:41We used to speak Arabic at home. I spoke the Tunisian dialect, so I have a bit of a southern accent.
35:47I mean, my accent is a bit broken, since I grew up in France.
35:50But I'm claiming it. I'm claiming that strong Tunisian identity of mine.
35:55It's so funny, because this is where I really felt my identity crisis.
35:59This is where it first bubbled up, because whenever I came here, I was told, you're not Tunisian.
36:04They used to call us the back-at-home folks, and that's what set it off.
36:08And in France at the time, like I was saying last time, I didn't really feel French either,
36:13so there was this little clash going on, and it's weird how much I've come back to my Arab roots, to my Tunisian roots, really.
36:19And through my calligraphic work, my French identity took root well.
36:24Or maybe it didn't take a root.
36:26So much as there was a balance that got struck between the two.
36:30And that brings me to today, where I'm claiming my French side and my Tunisian side, and don't have any issue with either.
36:35Whereas 20 years ago, if you'd asked me this question in 98, I would have told you I'm Tunisian and proud, even though I couldn't even write Arabic.
36:41I guess it's more to do with the hang-ups you have when you grow up in France.
36:45You have this issue where I feel like you need to choose between two sides, but an identity is so much more complex than that.
36:51The seed part comes from Le Seed by Konea.
37:02You know, and the way I used to write it out was, I'd write E-L and then S-C-I-D, and Le Seed is a play we used to read in French class in Paris.
37:11And the teacher told us that Le Seed comes from the Arabic word Asaid, which means the man, the master.
37:16And at the time, I was just starting out with graffiti, and I was saying to myself, I'm the master.
37:21Here comes the master of the streets, that sort of thing.
37:24So, it's like an ego trip, you know, but it stuck.
37:26And later on, when I started painting in Arabic, I changed the S-C-I-D to S-E-E-D, kind of like to represent the seed, looking for its roots.
37:39Oh, this is funny.
37:41Yeah, childhood memories.
37:46Yeah, childhood memories.
38:11It's funny.
38:16I always feel a bit of nerves before coming back here.
38:21But then, once I take it in, and especially seeing how the mural hasn't gone anywhere.
38:26A lot of my walls have disappeared, but this one is still here, so it's nice to see. It's been preserved somehow. It's still there.
38:41This piece holds a very special place in my heart because this is home, and because a lot of stuff got said about the project in my family.
38:54One of my cousins told me it made them stand up tall. That's the kind of thing that feels good to hear, but I'm basically just painting a wall.
39:00Beyond that, you'll get interpretations. People will interpret that as they will.
39:04I just wanted to paint a wall, and it later turned out I painted the tallest minaret in Tunisia, which wasn't a goal in itself.
39:11But most importantly, it brought people together. It was funny seeing all the conversations going on at the bottom of the minaret every day.
39:17There would be such a crowd down there.
39:30Since this is a minaret, and this is a mosque, I thought the most appropriate message needed to come from the Quran.
39:37So I used a verse that says, O mankind, verily we created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, so you may know one another.
39:47That's what's written down on both sides in Arabic.
39:50I think a lot of people have very backwards or very simplistic views of what religion is.
39:55But you know the Imam, he's the one who authorized the project. He told me, thank God you came.
40:00And he said to me, do what you want. And you can imagine, it isn't every day you'll come across an Imam who's open to graffiti.
40:06All the more so on his mosque's premises. And I didn't submit a sketch, there was no validation process.
40:12I did it at home because here in Gabes, a lot of people got in touch with me after.
40:16Can you come paint the mosque? And that turns it into decoration.
40:19Here this is really a work of art that's placed on the mosque, one calling for unity, solidarity and fraternity between peoples.
40:25I always see that the work only belongs to me while I'm painting it. Afterwards, it's not mine any longer.
40:30The city owns it. That's why I didn't sign it. I never sign any of my walls because that's the point.
40:35The whole idea is to ensure that the wall then belongs to the community.
40:38This one belongs to the city of Gabes and that's that.
40:41I think people are proud of me and I'm proud of myself.
40:43People tell me that and it's nice to hear and that's what matters.
40:47What the hell?
40:57What the hell?
40:59Oh.
41:00Oh.
41:02Oh.
42:35This year marks the third edition, and I took part in the second edition.
42:39I only attended to lend my support.
42:41And when I see initiatives like this one taking place here, since nothing ever happens in Gabes,
42:45I feel a sense of pride.
42:50All the more so since they asked me to design the festival trophy, and they put together a presentation, we ended up on the national news.
42:57It's flattering, and it's encouraging.
43:02And as a native Gabesian, it's important for me to be here.
43:05I'm expecting and hoping that people will come watch this movie.
43:22This is the whole point.
43:23After all, in holding the opening here in Gabes, it all started here.
43:26The project started here, and is coming to a close here.
43:29So it was important to me to have the first showing here during the festival.
43:32I thought it was perfect.
43:43It was great, wasn't it?
43:44A nice photo of Tunisian youth.
43:48This is the initial sketch on paper.
44:18Look, there's my little chef's hat, my marker over on this side, and that turned into this.
44:25And it's actually so staggering to take in.
44:28The thing is, this was super well thought out.
44:30The team representing the city of Toronto did a seriously amazing job.
44:33You know, over the span of one year, they really kept every single thing running smoothly.
44:38And that's what really excited me about this project.
44:40The fact that it was just seamless.
44:42Everyone was so involved in this project, so invested.
44:45From them as from the members of my team who worked on it with me,
44:48in particular, Hatem and Malek, who were in charge of the 3D aspect.
44:53The camera is pointed at me today, but behind it all,
44:55there were over a dozen people pitching in.
44:57And that's the important part.
44:58That's what needs to be underscored.
45:00And the idea behind this concept takes its root in the story of the Tower of Babel.
45:27which says that people tried to build a tower to reach God,
45:35and that God punished them by creating languages,
45:38which made them unable to communicate.
45:40So they stopped building the tower, and then they scattered all over the world.
45:44And here Toronto is.
45:45It's considered one of the most diverse cities in the world.
45:48The highest level of diversity is here,
45:50making it also one of the most multicultural cities out there as well.
45:54And the point is that people come here with their different languages
45:57from all four corners of the world,
45:58and they settle down in Toronto and build their lives here,
46:01which essentially means they're building a society,
46:04all while speaking one language, English.
46:06So that was the point, to showcase a kind of reverse of the Tower of Babel.
46:10That's why I called it Mirrors of Babel.
46:12Really because everyone has a reflection in their differences from others,
46:15and that's what I wanted to bring to the fore here.
46:17So that's why I called it Mirrors of Babel.
46:47So that's why I called it Mirrors of Babel.
47:17I personally had no artistic sense.
47:40I could say this looks good, or that doesn't look good, but nothing further.
47:44I had no feelings out of it, it didn't evoke anything.
47:47And then he shows up and he tells me, come work with me, come on, we'll get something rolling.
47:52And I don't mean he was making a sales pitch, but the way he was talking to me grabbed me.
47:56I started out as an IT consultant, so I was on track to make a lot more money, but he was speaking from the heart.
48:04And he was full of passion and feeling.
48:06Maybe he has no idea of that.
48:08See, at the time, I don't know if you recall, he used to always say to me,
48:12the goal isn't to change the world, it's to change the mindset of just one person.
48:18And he'd say to me, if I can manage over the course of my career to change the mind of just one person, then I've made it.
48:24So I said to myself, damn, I'm really liking that idea, come on, let's partner up and we'll try to change the mindset of just one person.
48:31Interacting with people, that whole aspect of it really spoke to me.
48:35And I like the human side of the work.
48:37And the feeling that I was useful, ultimately.
48:40That I wasn't just a transitory thing on this planet, but I was useful for something.
48:45That I could say to myself, yeah, I came into this world and I did something useful.
48:49I changed mindsets.
48:51I made an impact on people's daily lives.
48:53And that was what mattered.
48:55And that's what Fozy represents to me.
48:58Actually, when he told me, MoMA is confirmed, let's do the book launch with MoMA.
49:02In addition to that, I'll hold a round table with Glenn Lowry.
49:06My mind just instantly went back to Fozy telling me about his art, about the first murals he painted.
49:12I can instantly picture the first phone call he gave me, where he said to me,
49:16Art Dubai is taking place.
49:18I need to try and reach a maximum of people through my art.
49:20I need to try and make a living out of it.
49:22There's so much I have to give.
49:24And now he's going to MoMA, and actually, as soon as he said MoMA, well,
49:28well, it's not New York as a whole, but MoMA that enshrines an artist's recognition.
49:32It's the grand fireworks display.
49:34It's like the 4th of July.
49:35We'll see you next time.
49:35Bye-bye.
49:35Bye-bye.
49:36Bye-bye.
49:36Bye-bye.
49:36Bye-bye.
49:36Bye-bye.
49:36Bye-bye.
49:36Bye-bye.
49:37Bye-bye.
49:37Bye-bye.
49:37Bye-bye.
49:37Bye-bye.
49:37Bye-bye.
49:37Bye-bye.
49:38Bye-bye.
49:38Bye-bye.
49:38Bye-bye.
49:38Bye-bye.
49:39Bye-bye.
49:39Bye-bye.
49:40Bye-bye.
49:40Bye-bye.
49:41Bye-bye.
49:42Bye-bye.
49:43Bye-bye.
49:44Bye-bye.
49:45Bye-bye.
49:46Bye-bye.
49:47Bye-bye.
49:48Bye-bye.
49:49Bye-bye.
49:50Bye-bye.
49:51Bye-bye.
49:52Bye-bye.
49:53Bye-bye.
49:54New York is a pretty special place.
50:13I lived here for almost two years from 2006 to 2008.
50:19And right now, coming back here today, or coming back for projects I've done here over
50:23the past couple of years, it's been making me see the city with fresh eyes and interacting
50:28with it in a completely different way.
50:30The people I'm meeting here are completely different too, and basically to me, this is
50:33the art capital of the world.
50:36And now, this is no small project bringing us here anymore.
50:40It's the launch of our book, Perception, and it's not happening just anywhere, but at MoMA.
50:46So yeah, all on all, it feels like some kind of triumphal return, and I'm so incredibly
50:52pleased.
50:53Hello.
50:54What's your name?
50:55What's your name?
50:56What's your name?
50:59Amari.
51:00Amari?
51:01That's a beautiful name.
51:02How old are you?
51:03I'm eight.
51:04Eight.
51:05Are you from New York?
51:06No, I'm from Tennessee.
51:07Wow.
51:08Which city?
51:09Nashville?
51:10No.
51:11Murfreesboro.
51:12Okay.
51:13All right.
51:1430 miles from Nashville.
51:15Yeah, that's the only city we know in France, Nashville, you know?
51:17It's amazing.
51:18All right.
51:19Nice to meet you, Amari.
51:20Nice to meet you, guys.
51:21Same.
51:24All right.
51:25Look at the flower for you.
51:26Oh.
51:27Come on.
51:28Anything?
51:29Anything?
51:30Anything?
51:31Questions?
51:52Excellent.
51:54Anything?
51:55He's a very generous person, and I think these projects are about always giving
52:02something back as much as it is about what he himself can make. And so it's
52:07this sense of a negotiation. Because his projects occur in public space, it's
52:13transactional. It involves permission to do it. It involves sometimes a negotiation
52:18to do it. And that's part of what's woven into the realizing of the project.
52:24And that's what I mean by it's performative. Even though there is a physical thing left
52:30at the end, the calligraphic marks that he makes, they are the result of this complex
52:36transaction that can involve weeks, months, even years of discussion in order to be realized.
52:42And I think that's a very important dimension of his work, that it's always about engaging
52:47people, engaging communities, convincing people to not only support him, but even to participate
52:54in the project.
52:55Explore a little bit of the social asset. It's because you did get to know the community,
53:01and the community became a part of the project. Here in New York, or in Egypt, or in Paris,
53:08in Egypt, or in Egypt. There was a logistic team, like the media team, documenting every single
53:27time and time and time of the time of the time of the company.
53:28So it's a great thing about the pandemic.
53:30It's going to be a positive opinion.
53:32It's the first thing that we say, because it's not so good to know in the day, and the
53:34people it's not so good to know in the day.
53:35I mean, no?
53:36I don't get to say that because we all know you're great.
54:06I don't get to say that.
54:36I don't get to say that.
55:06I can be surrounded by 200 people.
55:08It doesn't bother me one bit.
55:09I'd still work the same way.
55:11Then again, I'm not the type of guy who will go,
55:13I need to be left alone to be able to create or else I can't do anything.
55:17I need to withdraw somewhere quiet to write emails.
55:19That's when too much noise around me stresses me out.
55:21But when it comes to painting, I don't have any of those issues.
55:24Not once since I started painting had I imagined
55:26that a painting could evoke so many feelings
55:28and touch people so deeply.
55:56I don't have any thoughts on saying that.
56:00I don't have any thoughts on saying that.
56:04I don't like to write.
56:06I don't have any thoughts on this.
56:07And I'm talking about a painting could have been wonderful.
56:09But I'm talking about an painting and it's dessous.
56:10I know it's all in the world too.
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