meditation on light
Great Pyramids of Giza - Art d'egypte 2023
Only when it is absent and darkness fills its place does man acknowledge its importance and its magic. Light is what allows man to experience reality and interpret its beauty with our own eyes, giving us the freedom to live, appreciating its magnificence without limiting life to a struggle for survival.
Inspired by Appolo, god of light and virtue and sun god Ra, this artwork takes the form of a gold carpet, placed on the ground of the archaeological site of the Pyramids of Giza.
This process based work, made live at the Giza Plateau consisted of a linen carpet covered in goldplatedbrassleaves,theartist’ssignaturetechnique, reflectingthesunandfollowingits trajectory, from dusk till dawn.
The piece is a direct reference to ancient Egypt translated in a contemporary language, using the symbolism of a carpet, honouring the country that's hosting it.
Meditation on Light is the first performance art piece, to ever be hosted at the Great Pyramids of Giza.
The artist worked on location for two weeks, for 12 hours a day, adding layers of gold leaf on the bare surface, only for it to be absorbed by nature the next day.
This repetitive movement becomes a meditation practice for the artist, challenging the vastness of nature and rejection of ego. What would have been a perfect golden carpet becomes a live artwork that is only activated when someone is working on it. The art installation became a space for peace and transcendence, at the centre of one of the most energetic places in the world.
Once the exhibition was open to the public, the audience was invited to add gold leaves on the carpet, becoming co-creators of the piece, able to truly understand its purpose. Meditation on Light became a meditative space for both the artist and the viewer, and a powerful statement on union and peace, much stronger than anticipated, given the current political state.
After the artist left Giza, the carpet remained at the Plateau for the duration of the exhibition, and was activated once people stepped, sat, or laid on it.
By leaving their mark on the artwork, the audience contributed in its transformative essence, changing its hue and texture through use.
