Like big art? French-Tunisian artist eL Seed's newest "caligraffiti" mural is enormous, both in size and emotional weight. The anamorphic piece, called Perception, spans over 50 buildings in Cairo's Manshiyat Nasr neighborhood and challenges viewers (everywhere) to see the world around them more carefully. so
The area is known as the "Garbage City" and houses over 60,000 Coptic residents who have developed a highly nuanced system for reclaiming and recycling trash. While their efforts have gained international media attention, in Egypt the community is still regarded as nothing but a slum.
Despite their innovative repurposing of ~80% of the city's refuse, its residents (called Zabaleen or "Garbage people") live without basic infrastructure like electricity and water, and are met locally with disdain and few opportunities. As eL Seed points out on his website:
"The Coptic community of Zaraeeb...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 beauty to the neighborhood and affirm the value and contributions of its cultural-minority Coptic community, the massive calligraphic mural incorporates the words of Saint Athanasius, a Coptic Bishop from the 3rd century: "Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first."
Not a fan of graffiti? Cool your civic heels. Before embarking on the massive project, the artist met with local community members and property owners to gain permission and trust. Key among them was the Reverend Father Samaan Ibrahim, who serves the Coptic Orthodox population in one of the biggest churches anywhere in the Middle East. Having the blessings of local leaders, the project went both beautifully and respectfully.
Working with a team of 40+ painters, eL Seed found the neighborhood more welcoming, enthusiastic, and generous than any previous project, despite the hardships faced daily by its residents.
"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."
As the immense and multi-site piece changes the look of Manshiyat Nasr, here's hoping it helps change perceptions too.
Via Quartz.
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