This year marks the fifth edition of the show, which will be on display from November 11 to December 6, according to information available on the official website of Art D’Égypte, the organization that hosts the exhibition, founded by Franco-Egyptian curator Nadine Abdel Ghaffar to support artistic and cultural initiatives in Egypt.
The exhibition features works from “ten internationally renowned artists,” including Vhils. In addition to the Portuguese artist, “Forever is Now” includes Brazilian Ana Ferrari, Italian Michelangelo Pistoletto, Franco-Russian duo Recicle Group (Andrey Blokhin and Georgy Kuznetsov), Turkish Mert Ege Köse, Egyptian Salha El Masry, Lebanese Nadim Karam, Franco-Beninese King Houndekpinkou, South Korean J.Park, and American Alex Proba with the Dutch SolidNature’s David Mahyari.
For this exhibition, Alexandre Farto created a piece using doors collected from the streets of Cairo, “transforming everyday objects into a temporary monument.”
“Placed in the desert, the doors lose their literal function and become portals between the past and present, representing individual memories and alluding to collective stories built over generations and civilizations,” reads the presentation text of the Portuguese artist’s work. On the doors, Vhils carved portraits and patterns that evoke craftsmanship.
“The contrast with the permanence and monumentality of the Egyptian pyramids emphasizes the ephemeral nature of this contemporary monument, built not for the pharaohs, but for the lives and anonymous stories of those who shaped this land, for those who lived here, worked in constructing these stories, and for those who continue to pass through it today,” the text further states.
Born in 1987, Alexandre Farto grew up in Seixal, where he began painting walls and trains with graffiti at the age of 13, before moving to London to study Fine Arts at Central Saint Martins. He gained attention for “digging” into walls with portraits, a work that has received national and international recognition, taking the artist to various corners of the world.
In addition to multiple creations in Portugal, Alexandre Farto has works in countries and territories such as Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Italy, the United States, Ukraine, and Brazil, some of which involve local communities. He is represented in several public and private art collections.
Platform with Lusa
