CAIRO, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The sixth edition of "Forever Is Now," an international contemporary art exhibition, brought together contemporary artists from around the world on Sunday, turning the desert landscape near the pyramids into an open-air gallery.
Organized by Art D'Egypte, an Egyptian multidisciplinary arts firm, the exhibition runs from Nov. 8 to 28 across Egypt's Giza Plateau, inviting visitors to explore the passage of time, cultural memory and the enduring influence of the pyramids in steel, stone and vivid colors.
Among them is "It Is Time to Plant Love" by French-Chinese artist Jiang Qiong Er. The installation, inspired by ancient civilizations worldwide, features 12 towering, gold-colored guardian figures made of stainless steel and fiberglass, symbolizing shared values such as peace, freedom, equality and wisdom.
"At a time when most artists are striving to find differences, I am truly seeking common ground," Jiang told Xinhua, explaining the idea behind her installation.
Jiang's participation carries special significance this year, as Egypt and China mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Art cannot resolve conflicts, Jiang said, but it "can at least open a window, open a door, allowing us to engage in dialogue, to try to understand one another, and to walk together into our shared space."
Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, founder of Art D'Egypte, pointed out that Jiang's participation marked the exhibition's first collaboration with a Chinese artist.
Beyond its artistic displays, the exhibition offers an opportunity to showcase both ancient and modern Egypt, according to Abdel Ghaffar. "International visitors and media come to see not just our 7,000-year-old civilization, but also contemporary Egyptians," she said.
Abdel Ghaffar said the exhibition, open to everyone, attracts school and university groups each year, noting that art should not be limited to collectors.
Turkish sculptor Seckin Pirim explores the relationship between past and present in his installation "The King's Road," featuring limestone columns that evoke ancient ruins yet reveal distinctly contemporary forms.
Pirim explained that he envisioned the installation as "a gate and a portal" opening from the present toward the pyramids.
Egyptian visual artist Emad Abu Grain's "Talisman of Salvation," featuring six carved stone blocks and rope, draws on the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Abu Grain said his work explores the ancient Egyptian belief that knowledge was essential to attaining eternity, while death was a stage rather than an end.
French artist Geoffroy Pithon's "Hortus Pictus" features a vividly painted architectural structure whose arch frames a pyramid, while its other openings capture different views of the Giza landscape like individual paintings.
French-American artist Raphaele Shirley's "Passage" forms a walk-through tunnel of concentric arches made of woven palm reeds, copper and steel, casting shifting shadows across the desert sand.
British-Jamaican artist Rochelle Nembhard's "Celestial Vessels" offers eight egg-shaped limestone vessels inspired by ancient Egyptian creation mythology.
Saudi artist Abdul Rahman Taha's "The Gathering" stacks pieces of tawla, a traditional Egyptian board game, into stone sculptures that celebrate human connections across generations.
British-French artist Charlotte Colbert's "Possible Landscapes" is a monumental silver steel arch crowned with a single eye, inspired by the Eye of Horus, a famous ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, healing, health, and restoration.
Colbert said the arch reflects ideas of passage and journey, describing the pyramids as "the ultimate door between our world and the other world," and the eye as a symbol of "the power of collective imagination."
In a divided world, she noted, the exhibition brings people together across nationalities, genders and beliefs, creating "some form of dialogue" and "some form of humanity." Endilem
