The fourth iteration of Forever is Now once again transcended time and cultural boundaries at the foot of the Giza pyramids through 12 works by artists from different countries. A closer look at some of the installations.
Forever is Now 04 (FIN 04) invites us once again on "a journey of discovery." For four years, this flagship contemporary art exhibition, initiated by Art d'Égypte / Culturvator, has been reviving the spirit of ancient Egyptian civilization. This annual event celebrates the pyramids of Giza and the surrounding plateau, a 4,500-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site.
The fourth edition, which took place from October 24 to November 16, invites us to contemplate "the inexhaustible human quest for meaning." Twelve artists stepped into the shoes of archaeologists, using creativity as a tool to "reconsider the familiar, elevate the ordinary, and find treasures hidden in plain sight."
Visitors followed this process and discovered installations designed with unconventional materials, reminding us that "like archaeology, art requires an eye for the unexpected and the courage to celebrate the mundane."
PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCES
Forever is Now 04 maintains this commitment to building a culture of interconnectedness, where perspectives shift and interpretations evolve. The themes explored transcendence, hope, and faith rooted in the worldview of ancient Egypt.
"This year is particularly special because it is the first time we are presenting artists from Asia, opening up new dialogues and connections beyond borders," explains Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, founder of the company Art of Egypt.
This event continues to trace and explore the past, based on the conviction that there is no conception of the future without history. "We examine the narrative of past achievements to question, find inspiration, and understand the nature and purpose of successive generations," she reaffirms.
FROM ANTIQUITY TO AI
The major innovation of this edition is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) for the first time through two parallel projects. The first is that of Egyptian-American designer Hassan Ragab, who has connected technology and traditional art. His installation, Identity Oblivious, supported by Meta, Mark Zuckerberg's company, expresses the idea that AI can help expand the scope of creative expression.
Saudi artist Daniah Al Saleh focused on a ten-minute video project. Evanesce revisits the golden age of Egyptian cinema from the 1940s to the 1960s. Combining research and machine learning, the work reimagines the experience of watching these classic films, which shaped collective memories and perceptions of reality. It thus challenges norms surrounding fashion, love, and self-expression.
PATH OF PEACE AND TRANSFORMATION
Padma / Lotus is the first installation presented by an Indian artist. In her work, Shilo Shiv Suleman merges Eastern and Western symbols to create immersive installations that represent a rebirth of consciousness. Her art, rooted in pre-colonial India, bridges magical realism, art, nature, culture, technology, feminine energy, and social justice. Here, she draws inspiration from the blue lotus flower, offering a space for connection and peace. Her work, composed of 10 handcrafted brass lotuses made by artisans in India, uses pulse sensors to visualize visitors' heartbeats, inviting them to synchronize with one another. Padma / Lotus is an evolution of her other work, Pulse and Bloom, shown at Burning Man in 2014.
For her part, the Athenian artist Nassia Inglessis enjoys defying the limits of our physical existence. Her sculptures take shape and transform according to human interactions. Her work, Liquid Solid, imagines a journey into the past to form a vision of the future that unites the human, the technological, and the elemental. Here, she treats desert sand as a liquid solid in order to reveal the liquid essence beyond the solidity of the pyramids.
POWER OF THE ELEMENTS
British artist Chris Levine works in the field of light art and spatial perception. He uses light to imbue his works with a spiritual and meditative quality. His installation Quadrivium, inspired by the Great Pyramid of Giza, explores the ancient study of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and sound—essential elements for understanding the universe, as he points out. His contemplative space thus unites the spiritual and the mathematical, inviting the viewer to explore the universal truths embedded in the Giza plateau.
Jean Boghossian specializes in the art of fire. The burnt canvases and sculptures of this Belgian artist of Lebanese-Armenian origin bear witness to the transformative power of flame, representing both destruction and creation. His sculpture Desert Waves embodies the theme of excavation, establishing an architectural and symbolic dialogue with the surrounding landscape through large, undulating steel plates. This juxtaposition reflects how the artifacts of the pyramids harmonize with the natural desert landscape. His work thus echoes the enduring spirit of the Renaissance.
BOAT CROSSING
French artist Jean-Marie Appriou manipulates sculptural materials to create fantastical worlds inhabited by human, animal, and plant figures. His installation, Vessel of Time, made of Nile clay, is inspired by the solar barque of Khufu, discovered on the Giza plateau. This boat evokes the vessels buried near royal tombs that transported the resurrected deceased across the heavens. A child accompanies the sculpture, representing the link between the past, present, and future.
Xavier Mascaró chooses to integrate architecture, design, and sculpture into his works, which often interact with their environment. For his creation Exodus, the Spanish and Latin American sculptor and painter draws inspiration from ancient iconography where the boat played a ritual role, serving as a means of passage from one life to another, like Egyptian funerary boats. His work thus plays with perspectives and perceptions, relating to the present, to the passage of time, and to our collective memory. It is like an imaginary archaeology of the present, seen from the future.
FROM NATURE TO THE COSMOS
Jake Michael Singer, based in South Africa, merges sculpture, photography, and painting, focusing on materiality, myth, and catharsis. His work explores the tension between natural landscapes and urban environments. The installation *We Will Meet Again in the Sky* reflects the juxtaposition of the ancient sacred desert of the Giza plateau with modernity, prompting viewers to reconsider their relationship with nature and history. Here, the bird in flight symbolizes the divine rooted in Egyptian cosmology. According to Singer, gods and spirits were often depicted as anthropomorphic beings linked to the natural elements. This choice of avian forms thus pays homage to this iconography and the spirit of the ancient deities.
We conclude with the work of Federica Di Carlo. The Italian artist explores the profound connection with nature and the cosmos in a relationship between humanity, the environment, borders, power, and the unknown. Her installation, I See, I See, is a fusion of the scientific and the mystical, symbolizing the infinite possibilities of life and invisible energies. A large Eye of Horus/Ra, composed of thousands of graduated optical lenses, is placed between the viewer and the landscape of the Giza pyramids, becoming a vantage point for ever-changing and unexpected visions.
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