Imagine arriving at the Giza Plateau expecting the familiar – sand, sky, and the monumental geometry of the pyramids – and instead finding a gleaming aluminum ring rising from the desert like a misplaced artifact from tomorrow. That unexpected collision between the ancient and the ultramodern is exactly what Turkish artist Mert Ege Köse has created with The Shen , a large-scale installation now on display as part of Art D’Égypte’s fifth edition of Forever Is Now . The piece doesn’t try to rival the pyramids, which would be a hopeless task. It speaks to them instead, setting up a quiet, confident exchange across thousands of years.
The title offers the first clue. In pharaonic Egypt, the Shen symbol was a looped rope representing eternity and protection, a circular form without beginning or end that appeared in royal cartouches and sacred texts. Köse lifts that idea straight out of the hieroglyphic system and reimagines it as a monumental aluminum ring that functions almost like a camera frame. Stand inside it and the pyramids fall into view as if curated. Step to the side and the light shifts across its mirrored surface, pulling the desert, the sky, and the limestone giants into a constantly moving reflection. The sculpture refuses to stay still; it changes with every step you take and with every hour of the day.
This sensitivity to light and perception is at the core of Köse’s broader practice. He often works with malleable aluminum alloys and sleek, fluid surfaces, materials that feel distinctly contemporary yet somehow carry the same sense of endurance that defines the artifacts inside Cairo’s museums. His approach isn’t about imposing meaning. It’s about offering presence – a space where historical symbols can speak again without being reduced to clichés.
That’s why The Shen feels so at home on the Giza Plateau. Since 2021, Art D’Égypte has turned this ancient site into an open-air stage where contemporary artists from around the world create work in direct conversation with a place that has defined the human imagination for millennia. The goal isn’t spectacle for spectacle’s sake. It’s a thoughtful effort to show that new artistic languages can coexist with the oldest ones without diminishing either. Köse leans into this idea rather than fighting it, using a simple, bold form to highlight the pyramids rather than distract from them.
Look through the ring and you see history framed through a modern perspective. Walk around it and you watch time fold – the permanence of stone contrasted with aluminum that behaves almost like a liquid mirror. The circular shape nods back to the ancient meaning of the Shen symbol, but it also echoes the cycles embodied in the pyramids themselves: life, death, legacy, and the endurance of human creativity.
Part of the sculpture’s power is its accessibility. It doesn’t rely on obscurity. Anyone can walk up to it, grasp the idea instantly, and form a personal connection. It photographs beautifully, which matters in a world where cultural experience is shared globally through a camera roll. It becomes a physical and digital portal, drawing people into the site whether they’re standing in the desert or scrolling on a phone thousands of miles away.
For Köse, already emerging as a significant voice in Turkish contemporary art, this installation marks a defining moment. To create a work that lives not in the shadow of the pyramids but in authentic dialogue with them is no small feat. The Shen manages to feel both futuristic and deeply rooted, both reflective and grounded. It reminds us that the conversation between antiquity and the present doesn’t need to be wrapped in complexity to resonate. Sometimes a single unbroken circle is enough to bridge 4,500 years. Also you might be interested in Silver Art by Sculptor Nicolas Desbons.
