A dismantled chariot, recreated in the form of two unruly metallic horses next to half-submerged wheels, and giant flowers popping out of the sand: visitors to the pyramids of Giza are being greeted by a series of artworks as Egypt stages its annual contemporary art exhibition at the 4,500-year-old Unesco world heritage site.
Every autumn for the past four years, the pyramids have become the unusual backdrop to a vast open-air exhibition held in the arid expanses and shifting sands of the surrounding plateau.
The aim this year of Forever is Now, which for the first time includes artists from Asia, is to turn visitors and artists into “modern-day archaeologists, using creativity as their tools to uncover the hidden layers of meaning embedded in the ordinary”, according to Art D’Égypte, the organisation behind the show.
Fourteen artists from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North America are taking part, with works including sculptures, installations and paintings. Art D’Égypte says the country’s ministry of culture and ministry of tourism and antiquities hope the show will play “a vital role in promoting tourism in Egypt”, which has been affected by the Gaza war and tensions in the Middle East.
Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, Forever is Now’s curator and founder of Art D’Égypte, told the Guardian that “the backdrop of the pyramids allows for a dialogue that merges ancient civilisation with the contemporary, depicting the true essence of artistic development through the ages”.
One highlight is Four Temples by the South Korean artist Ik-Joong Kang, who has lived and worked in New York since 1984. The Korean folk song Arirang, sung by people both in North and South Korea, features on the outer walls of the structure written in Hangeul (the Korean alphabet), English, Arabic and hieroglyphs. Drawings by people from around the world, particularly children, cover the inner walls. Kang, who visited Egypt last year to set up workshops with local schools, is known for featuring children’s drawings in his work.
Shilo Shiv Suleman is the first Indian artist to take part in the exhibition. Her artwork Padma consists of 10 giant lotus flowers made of brass, iron and silk ranging from 2.5m (8ft) to 4.5m in height, handmade by artisans in India. Art D’Égypte says the work is an oasis that nods to prophecies that say “when the blue lotus flower returns to bloom in Egypt, there will be a rebirth of consciousness rooted in the purity of the heart”.
Egyptian artist Khaled Zaki, whose dismantled chariot is called The Race, said: “When you face those horses you see your image on them because they are like a mirror, because each one of us is responsible for what’s happening in the world,” Zaki says.
Putting contemporary art against one of the world’s most iconic landmarks is both “an honour and a big challenge” he says, “because whatever you put in front of the pyramids, the pyramids win”.
