Hall 44 of the Egyptian Museum saw an unusual buzz of activity last week as intellectuals and art lovers gathered for the launch of AUC Press’s new publication “The Eternal Light of Egypt, a photographic journey by talented artist Sarite Sanders.
To accompany the launch, the walls of the hall were covered with large prints of Sanders’ photos as seen in her book: black and white pictures of Egyptian monuments covered the specially crafted partitions.
Unlike the conventional pictures of the Sphinx, Horus and Ramses II, Sanders’ perspective captures these ancient icons in a fresh way. The light and dark contrasts are “magical and mysterious, says Mark Linz, director of the AUC Press.
Linz told Daily News Egypt that he admires Sanders’ work so much that he has some of these very same prints hanging on the walls of his house.
In these pictures, the artist aims to “evoke the elusive intimacy of her genius loci, unveiling Egypt’s secret spiritual heart, and her haunting immanence when beholding her [Egypt’s] monuments for the first time, Sanders said.
A picture of the great Sphinx – taken from a low angle looking up at the legendary figure – captures the grandeur of the landmark. The monochrome picture is grainy, which makes it look like a newspaper print.
“Their mystique and perennial allure remain timeless and seem to testify to a prodigious sacred science impervious to change, the artist said.
Another picture featuring the Palm Grove at Sakkara looks like a charcoal painting with smudged edges.
In some of the other exhibited photos, Sanders experiments with infrared photography. “I took color images as well but the infrared black and white was much more stunning, she explained.
In this type of photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The technique, which gives the images a lurid effect and is often referred to as the Wood Effect, was especially popular in the 60s when musicians like Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa used it on their album covers.
“The figures come alive, almost stepping out of the pillars, Linz said of one photo taken inside a Luxor temple.
One of the highlights of the exhibit is a picture of the Sacred Lake in Karnak with the reflection of the monument in the water giving a glazed, dreamy effect.
Sanders first came to Egypt in 1974 and was “mystified. It was no surprise then that she returned dozens of times to record her experience.
“I was looking for a way to express and challenge my voice without all the dispersive talk about Egyptology but from an inner perspective, she says
Sanders didn’t plan to turn her photos into a book. She simply regarded them as her personal 30-year journey. Throughout those years, she kept cultivating and culling from the pictures she had been taking, and the story naturally emerged.
One of Sanders’ main goals was to capture the aura of light in the ancient ruins. “There is a mystical marriage of light and beauty that seems to awaken the energy of the temple.
Accompanying the pictures in the book is an enlightening forward by Dr Dorothea Arnold of Lila Acheson Wallace, curator for Egyptian Antiquities at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
“She [Arnold] immediately saw what it was I was trying to say, which was a great validation to me … It was really her recognition that brought in a literal form to the book, says Sanders.
There’s also a forward by Egypt’s chief archeologist Zahi Hawass – who also attended the launch of the exhibition – discussing and praising Sanders’ work.
The exhibition at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Hall 44, will be displayed until April 5. The book is available at the AUC bookshop.
