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The shape of a pyramid is thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a distance. (Wiki)
I’ve drawn the Giza Pyramids last year, during the first lockdown. I don’t know what prompted this, but I felt drawn to do it (pun intended). I had a large black paper and gold paint/pen and execute this drawing in a few days. Someone said the sky reminded them of Van Gogh Starry Night. I can see this – probably unconsciously channeled the masters’ spirit.
As a child, I always wanted to travels: far away pacific islands, Copa Cabana and The US were on the top of my list, and Egypt which was technically so close to me (I grew up in southern France) never was destination that interested me. Even after reading one of my favorite books The Alchemist by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho I never thought of going to Egypt, not completely sure why.
Fast forward to 2015: I was traveling to Mexico City on business, and one member of my team suggested we go see the pyramids. I feel a bit ashamed to say that I did not even realize there were pyramids in Mexico. I recall Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Ted Talk on The Danger of a Single Story. I imagined Mexico literally the way it is depicted in Arrested Development.
It never occurred to me that Mexico City could resemble European any other way: to my surprise – downtown Mexico City felt much like many European Capitals I had visited, with of course more colors and flavors as well as delicious Mexican street food and delicacies.
On our last day off, my team members and I had the hotel arrange transportation for a last-minute impromptu visit to Teotihuacán. On our way there, one of my friends, said that one of her goals was to visit all the pyramids in the world. I have to say, once again, I was unaware “this was a thing”. I was so grateful to be a part of this journey to the Mexican pyramids, and also to find out new things I could look into as soon as I would get the chance to!
This was such an amazing experience, and I will be forever grateful I had the privilege to see it for myself. It also sparked an interest for these amazing structures built centuries ago.
A few weeks ago I read singer-songwriter Alicia Keys’ autobiography. I absolutely love to learn about people’s stories. From Maya Angelou to Trevor Noah, Tiffany Haddish, or Kamal Haussman, I find inspiration to retrace the steps one took in the quest their Personal Legend. It tends to make me reflect on my own life and gives me the courage to keep on working on my projects.
This particular biography also made me revisit the repertoire of a great artist, this time with the “how” it all came to be.
In this book, she talks about how Egypt, a country she went to several times and found spirituality – impacted the way she relates to the world.
It did spark something in me that makes me want to find out more about the ancient Egyptians, the Kemet. Hopefully, one day I will finally make the trip and see it for myself.
Meanwhile, I will keep at contemplating at my Giza Pyramids.
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French Girl in Brooklyn 