The Shen Project: Reframing the Relationship Between Contemporary Art and the Historical Landscape of the Giza Plateau

A Contemporary Artistic Experience on the Giza Plateau

Imagine standing on the Giza Plateau, with the majestic pyramids towering behind you as they have for 4,500 years, and suddenly encountering a new element that enriches this historic landscape. A massive aluminum ring, appearing as if it fell from the future, catches sunlight and reflects it onto its surroundings. This is the artwork “The Shen” by Turkish artist Mert Ege Köse, offering a visual experience that uniquely blends history with the present.

The Interaction Between Contemporary Art and Historical Heritage

This piece is featured in the “Forever Is Now” exhibition, which highlights how contemporary art can interact with historical sites. What distinguishes “The Shen” is that it does not seek to compete with the grandeur of the pyramids or overshadow the site’s historical symbolism. Instead, it creates a visual dialogue between ancient Egyptian heritage and modern design aesthetics, allowing visitors to reflect on the convergence of visual cultures across time.

Artistic Appreciation and Visual Experience

The work encourages viewers to pause and contemplate, requiring no prior expertise in art history to appreciate it. The harmony between the ring’s modern form and the surrounding archaeological environment evokes a range of emotions, from awe to admiration, highlighting contemporary art’s ability to generate meaning within historically significant spaces. This experience allows visitors to perceive the impact of modern design on a historic environment in a thoughtful and engaging way.

Symbolic Reference in the Artwork’s Name

The title “The Shen” is far from arbitrary; it carries a profound significance reflecting the artist’s philosophy. In ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Shen symbol represented eternity and protection, taking the form of a circle of rope with no beginning or end. It can be regarded as the original symbol of infinity and frequently appeared in royal cartouches and religious texts throughout the pharaonic era.

In this context, Köse transformed this symbol into a massive aluminum structure, framing the pyramids in a way that makes the artwork resemble the greatest visual telescope, linking past and present.

Visual Interaction and Shifting Reflections

What enhances the appeal of the piece is its play with reflection and visual perception. The polished aluminum surface is not only aesthetically striking but also dynamically interacts with its surroundings. It reflects the shifting desert light, the Egyptian blue sky, and the ancient stones, giving each viewer a unique experience that changes depending on the angle of view and the time of day.

A Continuously Evolving Artistic Experience

In short, the work represents a meticulously crafted interactive design, where the symbolic concept of eternity is transformed into an ever-changing visual experience. This interplay between light, surface, and setting allows every visit to the exhibition to offer a fresh perspective, emphasizing contemporary art’s ability to reinterpret historical symbols within a modern context.

Köse’s Artistic Philosophy

Mert Ege Köse has built his career around creating sculptural works that bridge tradition and innovation. His pieces often feature smooth surfaces and malleable aluminum alloys, materials that convey a sense of modernity while retaining an enduring essence. There is a poetic dimension to his work; it does not confront viewers with a fixed meaning, but rather invites them to explore their personal connections and individual interpretations of each piece.

The Importance of Place in the Artistic Experience

The setting plays a central role in understanding Köse’s work. Since 2021, Art D’Égypte has been pushing the boundaries of contemporary art through the “Forever Is Now” exhibition, transforming the Giza Plateau into an open-air art gallery that allows contemporary artists from around the world to engage with one of humanity’s most iconic historical sites.

Interaction Between Contemporary Art and Historical Context

The exhibition does not merely place contemporary works alongside ancient wonders for visual effect; it emphasizes how contemporary creative practice can illuminate and honor historical context. In this way, the dialogue between past and present becomes an essential part of the visitor’s experience, maintaining respect for heritage rather than competing with it.

Balancing Ancient and Contemporary Symbolism

“The Shen” succeeds because it achieves a precise balance between historical symbolism and contemporary design. The circular form not only reflects the ancient Egyptian symbol but also parallels the eternal cycle represented by the pyramids: life, death, and the continuity of human creative expression across millennia. Looking through the ring toward the pyramids, it feels as though history is being framed through a modern lens, a visual metaphor operating on multiple levels without any sense of artificiality or contrivance.

Accessibility and Audience Interaction

Another key aspect concerns accessibility and interactive experience. Unlike many large-scale sculptures that may appear intended only for specialists, “The Shen” invites visitors to engage and interact visually and immediately. Photos can be easily captured and shared, allowing the audience to explore the relationship between the artwork and the pyramids in a fresh, direct way.

Contemporary Art as a Digital Gateway

In an era where real-world experience intertwines with digital documentation, the sculpture becomes a gateway connecting people worldwide to this historic site. This fusion of contemporary art and digital experience offers visitors a deeper understanding of history while making global participation an integral part of the artistic encounter itself.

Mert Ege Köse: A Contemporary Voice from Turkey

As an emerging voice in Turkish contemporary art, Mert Ege Köse is taking strides that position his work well beyond regional recognition. Bringing his piece “The Shen” to Egypt, creating an installation of this scale, and crafting an experience that enhances one of the world’s most significant historical sites illustrates how an artistic project can define a prominent trajectory in an artist’s career.

Art That Connects Directly with the Audience

“The Shen” offers a rare type of contemporary art: works that make viewers feel and enjoy the visual experience without requiring prior knowledge or a degree in art history. Köse’s installation is both beautiful and thoughtfully conceived, highlighting the ability of art to create a dialogue between past and present in a manner that is simultaneously simple and profound. Sometimes, all a visitor needs is a perfect circle of light to experience this connection between time and place.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

“The Shen” can be seen as an architectural experience that blends modern design with its historical surroundings, offering visitors a fresh perspective on interacting with the site. On the positive side, the project highlights the ability of contemporary design to reinterpret historical symbols and transform them into a sensory and visual experience, demonstrating how simple forms can create a dialogue between past and present in a direct and easily understandable way.

However, the project also raises questions regarding traditional architectural practices. The open space of the Giza Plateau and the archaeological site itself require careful consideration of the installation’s impact on the environment, the contrast between modern and historical elements, and the sustainability of visitor interaction without harming the site. Additionally, the large scale of the installation and the recurring visual changes can present challenges in material maintenance or in balancing the artistic experience with the architectural experience of the space.

From an architectural perspective, the project provides a model for interactive experiences that could be applied in other contexts, whether historical or public spaces. At the same time, it underscores the importance of evaluating visual, structural, and functional impacts before implementing large architectural elements within sites of high cultural or heritage value. In other words, the project can serve as an example of innovative interactive design, while maintaining strict architectural sensitivity to historical context and the overall functionality of the space.

Prepared by the ArchUp Editorial Team

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