NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE.- BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art presents They Used to Call it the Moon at BALTIC’s project space at BALTIC 39, Newcastle upon Tyne.

They Used to Call it the Moon is a group exhibition exploring the enduring presence of the moon and the rich iconography of space on the popular imagination of artists. With reworked stories and imagined realities, ideas and tropes from science fiction, mixed with conspiracy theories and an interest in fictional restaging, the exhibition illustrates differing global perspectives of the moon and reworks its prevailing image on our collective imagination. The exhibition brings together artists from Pakistan, France, Croatia and the UK working in film, photography, sculpture and collage.

Guiding the exhibition is the notion that our moon may come to mean something different, as new geopolitical realities make way for a new relationship with space. As China seeks to follow their Jade Rabbit space rover project with fully manned missions to the moon and India’s successful Chandrayaan programme as they further their ambitions for a mission to Mars in 2014, we seem to be entering a new geopolitical space race.

BALTIC 39 also provides a platform for ideas and discussion where scientists, environmentalists, astronomers, artists and writers can share their knowledge and experiences in relation to the future possibilities of the moon with a series of related talks, events and screenings.

Artists: Katy Cole, Caroline Corbasson, Aaron Guy, Mishka Henner, Thomas Ireland, Kate Liston, Cristina de Middel, Aleksandra Mir, Michael Mulvihill, Mehreen Murtaza, Liam Murray, Katie Paterson, Joseph Popper, Sophy Rickett, Antonio Riello, Aura Satz and Marko Tadić.