mert ege köse debuts site-specific work at art d’égypte 2025
Against the vast horizon of the Giza Plateau, Art D’Égypte’s 2025 edition hosts The Shen, a large-scale aluminum sculpture by Turkish artist Mert Ege Köse, conceptualized and curated by Ayça Okay and realized in collaboration with AWC Contemporary. The intervention marks the first time Köse presents work in Egypt and the first time a Turkish artist participates in the internationally visible sculptural program of the program, Forever Is Now. Positioned directly before the Pyramids, The Shen explores ideas of connection and equilibrium today through this ancient motif.
Köse rebuilds the shen ring, long associated with eternity, completeness, and divine protection, as a volume defined by mathematically calibrated curves. The work, fabricated at ASAŞ Sanat using specially developed alloys, spans roughly six meters in width and rises five meters high. Its reflective surfaces draw in the surrounding desert light, creating a shifting field where viewers encounter the monumental landscape behind them.
The Shen, a large-scale aluminum sculpture by Turkish artist Mert Ege Köse
a contemporary shen ring set against the pyramids
Emerging from a year-long research process carried out through field studies in Egypt and Turkey, The Shen is conceived as an active point of dialogue. Köse frames the piece as an intersection of the human, the material, and the cosmic — a continuum mirrored by the geometry of the form and its placement at one of the world’s most enduring architectural sites.
Curator Ayça Okay, who also serves on the curatorial board for the 2025 edition of Forever Is Now, positions the project within a broader investigation of cross-regional cultural exchange. Her curatorial approach emphasizes research-based processes and experimentation, connecting contemporary production in Turkey with historical and institutional contexts across SWANA and Europe. In this sense, The Shen becomes part of her larger effort to situate artists within transnational networks shaped by shared mythologies, material knowledge, and spatial histories.
The collaboration extends to AWC Contemporary, the Dubai-based platform supporting large-scale artistic initiatives across the MENA and KSA regions. For this edition, AWC contributes not only to the production of Köse’s sculpture but also to expanding the visibility of Turkish contemporary art across Mediterranean and Gulf circuits — a triangular cultural bridge spanning Istanbul, Cairo, and Dubai.
the intervention marks the first time Köse presents work in Egypt
positioned directly before the Pyramids, The Shen folds symbolism into a contemporary exploration of continuity
the work spans roughly six meters in width and rises five meters high
reflective surfaces draw in the surrounding desert light
a shifting field where viewers encounter the monumental landscape behind them
Köse frames the piece as an intersection of the human, the material, and the cosmic
project info:
name: The Shen
artist: Mert Ege Köse | @mertegekose
curator: Ayça Okay | @aycaokay
collaboration: AWC Contemporary | @awccontemporarygallery
location: Giza Plateau, Cairo, Egypt
event: Forever Is Now 05 – Art D’Egypte | @artdegypte
dates: November 11th – December 11th, 2025
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