I started painting on canvas in 1990, after practicing graffiti from the end of 1985. I continued the graffiti until 1992, one year after the release of my book Paris Tonkar. Photography became my priority in art from 1991. Nevertheless, I continued to paint and draw during this period. In 2010, I decided to show my work on canvas and other media because I feel that after over 22 years of practice, I have reached some form of maturity that I like and I want to share with the public.

 

Graduate of the Sorbonne (University Paris I) in medieval history and art history, Tarek released Paris Tonkar in 1991 at the age of 19 years: the first art book published in Europe dedicated to Spraycan art in Paris. It has become a reference book for all amateurs of urban art and specialists of Hip-hop. He has exhibited his first paintings in 1992 in the Chapon gallery at the great exhibition Paris Graffiti, a significant event because the magazine 1Tox was presented the same time. He helped organize this
exhibition and launch of the magazine: graffiti art knows his moment of glory during this period.Tarek chose to break away from that environment to better concentrate on his studies and writing of his master devoted to the Neo-Platonists in Baghdad during the golden age of the Abbasids. He studied Arabic at the Bourguiba Institute in Tunis from 1992 to 1993, while making numerous photo reports. Tarek has lived in Damascus between 1995 and 1997, where he taught French and has given conferences at the French Cultural Centre (Damascus and Aleppo) and the School of Fine Arts in Latakia. His photographic work is exposed to Latakia and Damascus, then in France in many places including the Syrian Cultural
Center in Paris and various cultural areas in the provinces.Since 1999, Tarek has written more than sixty albums; he has worked with several publishers and he has won many awards including the Saint-Michel for Best Screenplay in 2007 for Sir Arthur Benton. That same year, his work on this series has been exhibited at the Caen’s Memorial for four months: it was the first time a comic was well highlighted in a place for history and memory. His comics for young people are regularly used in schools since 2004.He regularly gives conferences on comics, history and contemporary art.

In 2009, he participated in a symposium on the Cold War in Caen’s Memorial by presenting his work on propaganda and Comics during this period. Tarek is dedicated more to photography and is currently preparing an anniversary edition of his first book also a book on the history of graffiti from 1983 to 1995. For twenty years he has worked and reflects on different artistic expressions: comics, graffiti, urban art, photography, video, Arabic calligraphy. He also worked in lot of magazines such as Bédéka, Meuriad or Ya! as a journalist and comic book author.The year 2010 marked a turning point in his artistic career began as a leading journal dedicated to urban art and graffiti: Paris Tonkar magazine and regular contributor to International Hip-Hop, Cosmic Hip-Hop, Fatcap magazine and Lectrics. The same year he co-wrote the script for a pilot for American TV series and began to exhibit his artistic works in Switzerland and in Canada before proposing his artwork and photographic in France!The comic book is not neglected: he has written a new series about dramatical period who is happened during the Second World War in France
(The Vel ‘d’Hiv) with Christian Maucler drawing (the first volume is scheduled for 2013), another comic book on the Gallic Wars (2-volume set, the first was presented in preview at FIBD at Angoulême in 2012) and Turcos, a story about the Maghrebians soldiers in the trenches, in Tartamudo publisher. The album was nominated for the Tournesol prize and Tarek presented his documentary Turcos le making-off, during the FIBD at Angoulême, France.He is also working on a story with Seb Cazes for Moule à gaufres publisher called Le Concierge.