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Weaving the symbols of the past with futuristic materials, one of Bahrain’s most prolific artists is navigating the maze of the region’s heritage with his latest exhibition at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
National Arts Council chairman Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa is participating in the ‘Forever is Now’ exhibition, which kicked off on Thursday and runs until November 18, at the heritage site of the Pyramids alongside 13 international artists.
Shaikh Rashid’s art installation Reality is Timeless is based on the labyrinth – a lost underground maze in southern Egypt mentioned in ancient Greek mythology.
The artist, who has had an illustrious 50-year creative career, creates “fragments of a labyrinth, relics that emerge from the ground, tilted at varying angles,” with each of the 12 pieces ranging from 200cm x 300cm x 30 cm to 500cm x 200cm x 40cm.
Every surface of the steel frame panels with perforated electroplated aluminium, brass and copper is covered in motifs and symbols, inspired and sourced from a 1679 work Turris Babel (The Tower of Babel) written by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher.
“This book, which refers to a lost underground maze in southern Egypt mentioned in ancient Greek mythology, includes a collection of drawings and virtual maps of the maze, from which the idea for the massive work expressing Egypt’s history and civilisation was born,” Shaikh Rashid explained.
In addition to the conceptualisation of the mock-up, the production of the large panels – measuring 18,000cm x 900cm in total – took four months, and the piece will return to Bahrain after the exhibition ends on November 18.
The event is organised by Art D’Egypte under the patronage of Unesco as well as Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities ministry as well as its Foreign Affairs ministry.
“It aims to establish a dialogue between the past and the present by blending ancient archaeological heritage with contemporary art, highlighting the importance of Egypt’s ancient heritage, and being a source of inspiration, imagination, and creativity,” the organisers of the ‘Future is Now’ exhibition added.
“This year’s edition is centred on the concept of ‘play’ that will see the Giza Plateau transformed into a space of serendipity, chance and experimentation featuring interactive sculptural artworks set to invite viewers to actively engage with each installation.”
Shaikh Rashid is a well-known figure within Bahrain’s artistic scene, with his works ranging from realism to impressionism to individualism.
He painted his first piece at the age of 14 and had his first personal exhibition, when he was just 18, before heading to Brighton University in the UK to study art.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Shaikh Rashid is already working on the Crossing the Nile series of paintings, which draw inspiration from the ancient Egyptian tradition in which people would settle along the Nile river’s eastern shore, where the sun rose and were buried along its western shore, where the sun set.
For details, follow @rakartfoundation on Instagram.
