Federica Di Carlo participates in Art D'Égypte

From October 24
to November 16, 2024

Art D'Égypte – Forever is Now .04
Al Haram, Giza Governorate 3512201, Egypt

Italian artist Federica Di Carlo – already winner of the 10th edition of the Italian Council, promoted by the Ministry of Culture with the project “I Will Watch You Burn” – will be one of the 12 protagonists of the 2024 international Art of Egypt exhibition, held from October 24 to November 16 in the evocative UNESCO heritage site of the Giza Plateau, among the iconic pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure.

The only Italian woman selected for this edition of Art D'Égypte, Federica Di Carlo will present “I See, I See”, a monumental installation which, at the foot of the pyramids, combines phenomenology, myth, and science, leading the audience into a profound dialogue between the ancient and the contemporary with a visionary site-specific work that traverses time and space to look beyond the visible, explore the universe above and below us, and rediscover the wonder of the world through new eyes.

“I See, I See” (an Anglo-Saxon phrase meaning “I see, I understand”) is a work that challenges the boundaries of traditional perception, creating a bridge between ancient Egyptian knowledge and contemporary explorations through the use of optical physics. Inspired by the Egyptian myth recounting the birth of humanity from the tears of the eye of the Sun God, with “I See, I See” Federica Di Carlo brings to life a device of other visions, rising like a gigantic observatory on the Giza Plateau, capable of exploiting the laws of physics and light to offer new points of view on the world.

Composed of a complex network of optical lenses, the structure interacts with the desert light, transforming the viewers’ visual experience and inviting them to rediscover the pyramid landscape through a new gaze. A meeting point of art, physics, and myth, but also an invitation to look beyond, Federica Di Carlo’s work becomes not only a tribute to the ancient Egyptian civilization but also an inquiry into our relationship with the natural and cosmic world.

Federica Di Carlo thus brings contemporary Italian art to the heart of Egypt’s UNESCO heritage, supported by a prominent exhibition resume including participations in prestigious contexts both in Italy and abroad. Indeed, many artistic and research contexts have hosted her works—artistic investigations between phenomenology, physics, science, and the human soul to explore and narrate man and humanity by “playing” with ancestral and universal dimensions: the MAXXI Museum in Rome, where she presented the trailer for her project “I Will Watch You Burn” in 2023; the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, where in 2022 she exhibited “I Wanted the Sun”; the Triennale di Milano during the event “The Time of Women” in 2018, where she presented the work “Flow”; We Lost The Sea, collateral of Manifesta 12 in Palermo, 2018; the Tour de la Babote in Montpellier, France, 2017, with the work “The Sea is Blue Because You Want to Know Why the Sea is Blue”; the Serlachius Museum in Mänttä, Finland, 2019, with the exhibition “The Quest of Happiness”; the Museum De Domijnen, Sittard, Netherlands, 2017, for the exhibition “Encovention Europe: Art to Transform Ecologies, 1957-2017”.

Thanks to decades-long collaborations with internationally renowned scientists and physicists, such as those at MIT, ESO, INAF, and CERN, Federica Di Carlo’s art skillfully blends scientific research with the poetic and symbolic dimension of art, investigating humanity’s relationship with nature, boundaries, environment, power, and the unknown, measuring their reciprocal connections and disconnections poetically. The artist adopts a vertical gaze constantly oscillating between the most intimate human dimension and its cosmic relevance. Her works often present themselves as complex systems characterized by a wide range of natural elements, inanimate things, physical phenomena, and technologies. Her work cycles on a theme may last several years; they are conceived as interconnected worlds where each work is a continuation, implementation, or implosion of previous ones. These are permeable symbolisms, sometimes contingent and often with a part of the work entrusted to nature’s control rather than the artist’s. The viewers assist through their senses to complete the artwork’s process.

The fourth edition of Forever Is Now, Egypt’s flagship art exhibition, returns this October under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the patronage of UNESCO. Scheduled from October 24 to November 16, 2024, Forever Is Now.04 brings together a selected group of 12 international artists, each contributing their unique voice to a collective dialogue that transcends time and cultural boundaries. Founded by Franco-Egyptian curator Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, Art D’Égypte has become a reference point for the Egyptian and international cultural scene, committed to enhancing and promoting the country’s rich artistic scene and bridging the gap between Egyptian artists and the international art panorama. Forever Is Now.04 takes place under the aegis of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with UNESCO patronage. Federica Di Carlo’s work “I See, I See” was realized with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Cultural Institute of Cairo, Gestione Silo, and Collezione Motta.

“I See, I See” will be publicly inaugurated on October 24, 2024, and will remain on display at the Giza Plateau for the entire duration of the event, until November 16.

(From the press release)