EL SEED, Special event

On the occasion of eL Seed's intervention at Fondazione Pirelli HangarBicocca, Galleria Patricia Armocida is pleased to present a selection of works created by the artist between 2017 and 2024.

From his previous studies in the two solo exhibitions at the gallery Tradizione proverbiale (2017) and Templates of love (2020), eL Seed now creates a monumental public artwork for Pirelli HangarBicocca titled Waves only exist because the wind blows.

This phrase also echoes within this new exhibition, where eL Seed presents four new works related, both in title and substance, to the project carried out at the foundation.

"Waves only exist because the wind blows. Once they approach the coast, they bring sand to the shore and carry away just as much.

People, like waves, are driven by economic, social, political, and environmental reasons to migrate to unknown destinations in search of a better life. And like waves upon reaching the shore, people leave grains of their existence in these places and take away others, enriching the new harbor while also enriching themselves."

This is how eL Seed chooses to represent Milan. Milan, a city that sees many come and many leave; a city that welcomes people, adapting to them while always leaving something of itself; a city that creates a perpetual and equitable exchange with those it hosts.

The artist, who often uses quotes from local writers, poets, and philosophers, in this case draws from the words of Cesare Pavese, from the famous work La luna e i falò: “Everyone needs to have a place where he belongs, even if it’s only for the sake of leaving it”. Thus, eL Seed creates today for Milan an artwork that meditates on travel, emigration and the feeling of belonging to a place.

BIO

eL Seed (Le Chensey, France, 1981) is a contemporary artist who blends painting, sculpture, and monumental installations.  He draws inspiration from writers, poets, and philosophers worldwide to convey messages of peace and unity. eL Seed uses his art to echo and amplify the stories and voices of the communities he encounters.

His work has been shown in exhibitions and in public places all over the world including most notably on the façade of L'Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, in the favelas of Rio di Janeiro, on the DMZ between North and South Korea, in the slums of Cape Town and in the heart of Cairo's garbage collectors neighbourhood.

In 2021, eL Seed was selected by the World Economic Forums as one of the Young Global Leader for his vision and influence to drive positive change in the world. In 2019, he won “The international award for public art” for his project in Cairo “Perception”. In 2017, he won the Unesco Sharjah prize for Arab Culture. He was named a global Thinker in 2016 by Foreign Policy for his project «Perception». In 2015, the international organization TED recognized him as one of the year’s TED Fellows, for advocating peaceful expression and social progress through his work. He has also collaborated with Louis Vuitton on their famous “Foulard d’artistes.”

His works are part of important institutional collections, namely the Louvre in Abu Dhabi and the Chrysler Museum in Virginia.