Abu Dhabi, May 16, 2025 – The Other Side of the Moon marks the Grand Opening of a new cultural space in Abu Dhabi, inaugurated by Baró Galeria in collaboration with O-Contemporary. This group exhibition brings together ten artists from seven different countries, inviting visitors to follow a movement that shifts from the immediate landscapes around us to the distant realms of the cosmos.
Featuring works by Abdus Salaam (b. 1989, South Africa), Latifa Saeed (b. 1985, United Arab Emirates), Mano Penalva (b. 1987, Brazil), Jorge Rosano Gamboa (b. 1984, Mexico), Tamara Kalo (b. 1992, United Arab Emirates), Adrian Pepe (b. 1984, Lebanon/Canada), Elias Crespin (b. 1965, Venezuela), Gary Hill (b. 1951, United States), Eduardo Kac) (b. 1962, Brazil), and Néstor García (b. 1985, Spain), Rasheed Araeen (b.1935, Pakistan) the exhibition unfolds across three interconnected chapters: from the immediacy of sand, desert, and surrounding landscape, to the human experience of wonder and searching, and finally to the mysteries of the Moon and the universe beyond.
At the heart of the exhibition lies the concept of Insān — the human being as a seeker, defined by the constant quest for the unknown. Through sculpture, installation, video, and mixed media, the participating artists explore how this restless impulse shapes our relationship with the environment, memory, and the cosmos.
In the first chapter, visitors encounter works that engage directly with the tangible — the materiality of sand, the tension of gravitational forces, and the vastness of the desert. As the exhibition progresses, the focus shifts inward, toward human perception and longing:
how we construct meaning through exploration, how absence, memory, and imagination shape what we see. Finally, the exhibition expands outward again, toward the sky — to the Moon as both a real celestial body and an enduring symbol of distance, dreams, and discovery.
Set in Abu Dhabi, under the light of the very Moon that has inspired poets, scientists, and dreamers for millennia, The Other Side of the Moon invites viewers to reflect on what connects the known and the unknown. The exhibition echoes, quietly but insistently, the spirit of exploration and reflection. In that subtle tension between technology and poetry, between outer space and inner gravity, it challenges us to reconsider what we choose to illuminate — and what we leave in shadow.
Featuring works by Abdus Salaam (b. 1989, South Africa), Latifa Saeed (b. 1985, United Arab Emirates), Mano Penalva (b. 1987, Brazil), Jorge Rosano Gamboa (b. 1984, Mexico), Tamara Kalo (b. 1992, United Arab Emirates), Adrian Pepe (b. 1984, Lebanon/Canada), Elias Crespin (b. 1965, Venezuela), Gary Hill (b. 1951, United States), Eduardo Kac) (b. 1962, Brazil), and Néstor García (b. 1985, Spain), Rasheed Araeen (b.1935, Pakistan) the exhibition unfolds across three interconnected chapters: from the immediacy of sand, desert, and surrounding landscape, to the human experience of wonder and searching, and finally to the mysteries of the Moon and the universe beyond.
At the heart of the exhibition lies the concept of Insān — the human being as a seeker, defined by the constant quest for the unknown. Through sculpture, installation, video, and mixed media, the participating artists explore how this restless impulse shapes our relationship with the environment, memory, and the cosmos.
In the first chapter, visitors encounter works that engage directly with the tangible — the materiality of sand, the tension of gravitational forces, and the vastness of the desert. As the exhibition progresses, the focus shifts inward, toward human perception and longing:
how we construct meaning through exploration, how absence, memory, and imagination shape what we see. Finally, the exhibition expands outward again, toward the sky — to the Moon as both a real celestial body and an enduring symbol of distance, dreams, and discovery.
Set in Abu Dhabi, under the light of the very Moon that has inspired poets, scientists, and dreamers for millennia, The Other Side of the Moon invites viewers to reflect on what connects the known and the unknown. The exhibition echoes, quietly but insistently, the spirit of exploration and reflection. In that subtle tension between technology and poetry, between outer space and inner gravity, it challenges us to reconsider what we choose to illuminate — and what we leave in shadow.