Tarek Benaoum

Captivated by the graffiti trend that marked the early 1990s, Tarek manifests the need to express himself freely. At the age of 14, a spray can in hand, he devotes himself to this art, of which he becomes inseparable.

While exploring his new craft, he also takes an interest in calligraphy, which he considers to be an inherent continuity of his passion for writing (letters and lettering). A four-year training program at Bernard Arin’s Scriptorium in Toulouse, allowed him to explore other methods of self-expression.

Tarek decides to test his skills by enrolling in a Latin Calligraphy course (calligraphy, writing and typography), where he receives trainings from some of the most renowned teachers: Kitty Sabatier, Véronique Sabard and Hassan Massoudy.

His playground: public spaces, city walls, hotels, restaurants and nightclubs… He expresses himself through fractured words, phrases, quotes, texts, poems and aphorisms: an inspiring universe emerging in new spaces. Tarek explores an unconventional and innovative “semantic scramble”. Indeed, his art highlights the dilution of time through the use of a technique of embedding, super positioning, and vertical and horizontal stretching of letters and words: a wavy flood.

His theory: use writings, calligraphy and typography as a full-fledged decorative medium. Artistically speaking this allows Tarek to broaden the scope of what is academically acceptable.

The work of Tarek Benaoum is a prism through which writing demonstrates his willingness and desire to leave an encrypted trace behind, which can be interpreted on so many different levels.