Against the backdrop of the three Great Pyramids of Giza and their plateau, an open-air art exhibition featuring a dozen contemporary art installations is held in the southwest of Cairo, Egypt.
The “Forever Is Now” exhibition is meant to combine ancient history and cultural heritage represented in the pyramids with contemporary art, drawing a link between the past, the present and the future.
One of the installations is a six-meter-tall unfinished obelisk by Emirati conceptual artist Zeinab Alhashemi. Made of stainless steel and camel hides, the obelisk symbolizes the well-known ancient Unfinished Obelisk located in Upper Egypt’s Aswan.
Another piece is “Secrets of Time” by Tunisian artist eL Seed. The artwork consists of a gate-like string curtain of hanging ropes surrounded by an iron frame, on which there was a quote of late Egyptian novelist Radwa Ashour in Arabic calligraphy: “Time does not disclose its secrets to humankind.”
eL Seed explained that his artwork is meant to celebrate the mystery and greatness of the Pyramids of Giza whose construction remains a secret till today.
“The piece is meant to offer a new experience, as anyone can open this curtain of ropes and rediscover the pyramids in a new way,” el Seed said.
“The pyramids in the background are more important than the artwork. The background gives value to the piece. My piece of work will perish while the pyramids will remain,” the Tunisian artist added.
Not far from el Seed’s piece, an artwork by Spanish artist SpY named “ORB: Under the Same Sun” features a four-meter-diameter ball, or orb, of chrome steel with mirrors of reinforced safety glass reflecting the pyramids, the sky and the surroundings.
A little further, a three-piece work by Jwan Yosef, a Syrian-born Swedish painter and artist, represents a huge 3D figure of the artist’s own face sinking into the sand, with only its nose, the lips and the chin emerging from the sand and facing the sky.
The limestone artwork, “Vital Sands,” takes a novel approach to the traditional self-portrait genre by depicting being submerged in the remedial sands of time.
Yosef said he was having a conversation with “one of the most ancient and iconic monuments in the world” through his piece.
“To have that dialogue with your own work is just incredible, and to be able to portray that it’s just been an amazing experience,” he added.
“Forever Is Now” is organized by Art D’Egypte company, an Egyptian platform dedicated to art and heritage, under the auspices of Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The month-long event will remain open to visitors until the end of November, featuring works of artists from 11 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Italy, Cameroon and France.
