Christina Dimitrova
"El Seed" is one of the world's foremost "calligraffiti" artists, combining street art with ornate Arabic script. Since 2013, the French-Tunisian artist has made his home in Dubai and has left his mark with works such as this sculpture "Declaration" outside Dubai Opera House that reads "Art in all its colors and types reflects the culture of the nations, their history and civilization."
MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
"El Seed" has created artworks across the world. This piece titled "Perception" in a Coptic Christian neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt was intended to explore the issue of discrimination against marginalized communities. The script reads "Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first."
Courtesy of eL Seed Studio
This piece on the fence of the Demilitarized Zone that divides North and South Korea uses the words of Kim Sowol, a poet from North Korea who died before Korea became divided.
Courtesy of eL Seed Studio
"Mirrors of Babel" in Toronto, Canada is "a tribute to the pluralist community of Toronto," using an Arabic translation of the poem "Prairie Greyhounds" by Mohawk poet, writer and performance artist E. Pauline Johnson, also known as Tekahionwake.
Hichem Merouche
Mural in Algiers, Algeria, uses lyrics from a song by singer Dahman Al Harrachi.
Courtesy of eL Seed Studio
This piece on the side of Jara Mosque in Gabes Tunisia uses a verse from the Quran: "Oh humankind, we have created you from a male and a female, and made you people and tribe, so you may know each other."
Henrique Madeira
In a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the artist painted lines from poet Gabriela Torres Barbosa: "You forgot how to love your people, to love your country, country of the poor, country of the black."
Courtesy of eL Seed Studio
A water tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, now features verses from Bedouin poet Abdallah ad-Dindan.
Don Karl
"My Wish" in Beirut, Lebanon, using lines from Lebanese poet Ameen Rihani.
Courtesy of eL Seed Studio
Mural in the township of Philippi in Cape Town, South Africa, based on a quote by Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible, until it is done."
Ouahid BERREHOUMA
Part of the "Lost Walls" project in Tunisia, when the artist painted 24 walls across the country, emphasizing the country's rich heritage after the revolution of 2011.
Courtesy of eL Seed Studio
This piece in Cambridge, UK, has achieved temporary protected status.
Christina Dimitrova
This 120-meter stainless steel calligraphic installation suspended between two bridges along the Saône river in Lyon, France, quotes Fernand Braudel, a historian who documented local history.
Courtesy of eL Seed Studio
In the Tunisian capital city Tunis a quote from poet Aboul-Qacem Echebbi: "And the sun rose behind the centuries."
Courtesy of eL Seed Studio
On the Arab World Institute in Paris, France, the artist quoted French writer Stendhal: "love is the miracle of civilizations."
JOEL SAGET/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
Panels along the Seine River, Paris, quote writer Honore de Balzac: "Paris is in truth an ocean: you can plumb it but you'll never know its depths."
Courtesy of eL Seed Studio
Working with "El Seed" is not for the fainthearted, as shown by artists collaborating on his "Perception" mural in Cairo.
Christina Dimitrova
The artist in his studio in Alserkal Avenue, Dubai , where he maintains an open-door policy to stay connected to the community.
CNN  — 

Dubai is known as a city of high-end spectacle, from its gleaming skyscrapers to colossal malls and futuristic experiments.

The “City of Gold” is less well known as a destination for underground street culture. But a French-Tunisian graffiti artist is doing his best to change that.

“El Seed” – whose pseudonym is a play on a title bestowed on 11th century Spanish lord Rodrigo Diaz - is a pioneer of “calligraffiti,” a style that merges graffiti with Arabic calligraphy.

Since he first rose to prominence with a mural commemorating Tunisia’s revolution in 2012, the artist has gone on to create spectacular public artworks everywhere from the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea to a Coptic Christian neighbourhood of Cairo.

The 38-year-old has traveled the world but his home is Dubai, where he works in a studio within the Alserkal Avenue complex, a trendy cultural district full of art galleries and social hangouts.

02:00 - Source: CNN
"El Ceed" Brings street art to Dubai

“El Seed” tends to feature memorable quotes in his artworks – whether from the Quran or Western poetry – and the wall outside his studio is daubed with an ornately-presented line from a play about the Spanish lord who gave him his name.

“When you paint in the street you are leaving something for people, you are creating for the people and the community,” he tells CNN. “I think the piece is now part of Alserkal.”

The artist is proud to be a part of the local community and maintains his connection to it through an open-door policy.

“My work is mainly in the street so people can see my process,” he says. “Here you can push the door and see how the studio is and get a little insight into the life of an artist.”

“El Seed” is lightly mocking of the idea that artists must meditate alone for inspiration, stating that his derives from human interaction and community life.

He is also dismissive of the idea that his adopted city is all style and no substance.

“For me the Dubai that is seen by people from outside and by people who live here is totally different,” the artist says.

“There really is an underground scene and Alserkal is (a major part),” he adds, pointing to the proliferation of cultural and social spaces.

As one of the district’s major attractions, “El Seed” can take some credit for its rise.