Weeks after he began, eL Seed is putting the final touches to his first public-art project in Dubai, a massive calligraphic painting of a poem by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
The artist’s trademark style is now known all over the world: long, swooping Arabic characters that intertwine with each other. The letters curve in such a way that it seems almost like a dance. The individual words of the source material are not always legible, but the proportion and structure of the artwork are technically brilliant and the content is always fascinating.
He has been living in Dubai for three years and opened his studio in Alserkal Avenue last year.
But, despite creating works on walls all over the world, this is the first time he has made his public mark in the city that he loves.
“Sometimes you have to go around the world to come back to where you are,” he says, “and I am happy that I waited all this time for the right wall”.
He is now in the final stages of his enormous artwork, which spells out the words of a poem titled Positive Spirit.
Its 10 verses talk about the “unwavering resolve” to realise your dreams, as well as the importance of faith. More info
By Anna Seaman thenational.ae
