When We Still Looked Up | Egyptian Watercolour Canvas Print by Alexandra Adams
When We Still Looked Up | Egyptian Watercolour Canvas Print by Alexandra Adams
Before We Forgot Collection
There was a time when humanity measured itself against the stars.
When the rising of the sun inspired reverence rather than routine. When the movement of the heavens shaped rituals, harvests and beliefs. When people stood beneath the vastness of existence not with certainty, but with wonder.
Created from an original photograph captured by Alexandra Adams, this artwork has been transformed through a contemporary watercolour process that preserves the sacred beauty of the original inscription while inviting a modern audience into its timeless mystery.
When We Still Looked Up depicts a ceremonial scene of divine figures and devoted followers gathered beneath the outstretched wings of protection and the radiant solar disc. Beneath them, rows of carefully inscribed hieroglyphics preserve stories, prayers and observations entrusted to stone thousands of years ago.
Part of the Before We Forgot Collection, this piece reflects upon humanity’s ancient relationship with awe.
Before our eyes became fixed on screens and schedules, we looked upward.
Toward the stars.
Toward the sun.
Toward questions that had no immediate answers.
As conversations today return once more to ideas of consciousness, intelligent life and our place within an infinite cosmos, When We Still Looked Up gently reminds us that curiosity itself is sacred.
Our ancestors did not claim to know everything.
They simply understood that wonder was a form of wisdom.
That humility before the unknown could coexist with intelligence.
And that perhaps the act of looking up changed us.
Before we forgot, we raised our eyes to the heavens—not to escape the Earth, but to understand our place within it.
Collection
Before We Forgot
Artwork Title
When We Still Looked Up
Artist
Alexandra Adams
Medium
Original photography reimagined through a contemporary digital watercolour process.
Printed as a premium float framed canvas using archival inks and sustainably sourced materials through Gelato.
Available Sizes
- 45 × 60 cm
- 50 × 70 cm
- 60 × 90 cm
Symbolism
The Winged Sun Disc – divine protection, illumination and the eternal cycle of renewal.
The Solar Figures – humanity’s relationship with celestial rhythms and the life-giving power of light.
The Devotees – humility, devotion and the willingness to stand before mystery with open hearts.
The Hieroglyphics Below – the preservation of sacred knowledge and the human desire to leave meaning behind.
Together, these symbols remind us that our search for understanding has always extended beyond the horizon of what we already know.
Inspiration
Inspired by ancient Egyptian cosmology and humanity’s enduring fascination with the night sky, When We Still Looked Up explores the sacred intersection between science, spirituality and wonder. It honours a time when asking the great questions was itself considered an act of devotion.
Room Suggestions
Study, meditation room, library, observatory-inspired space, wellness retreat, entrance hallway or contemplative living area.
The Before We Forgot Story
Before We Forgot is a collection of original photographs transformed into contemporary watercolour artworks that honour the intelligence, spirituality and symbolic richness of ancient civilisations. Inspired by enduring questions of consciousness, remembrance and humanity’s place within the cosmos, each piece invites us to reconnect with truths that transcend time.
Because perhaps our greatest gift has never been certainty—
but the courage to lift our eyes toward the unknown and wonder what else might be possible.