La Luna Gallery: The Reverse Art Exhibition 🩵💛

Tucked in a quiet corner of Chiang Mai’s art district, La Luna Gallery has long been known for its commitment to promoting contemporary art from Southeast Asia. 

With its whitewashed walls, soft lighting, and intimate space, the gallery offers a unique platform for emerging and established artists. This season, it takes a bold step forward with an exhibition that challenges perceptions—"The Reverse.

“The Reverse” is not just an art exhibition—it’s a conceptual experience. It dares to ask: What if we looked at art from the opposite side?

 Instead of inviting viewers to interpret meaning, the artworks seem to ask questions back. The exhibition flips the roles of observer and subject, comfort and discomfort, tradition and rebellion.

Upon entering, visitors are greeted not with a grand masterpiece, but a blank wall—intentional, jarring. The artwork begins behind the viewer, requiring a physical and mental turn to engage. 

The layout leads guests in an unusual direction, forcing them to walk backward, pause, and reconsider how they move through space and meaning.

From deconstructed canvases to mirror installations and video loops played in reverse, the show features a wide range of media. One particularly striking piece is a sculpture made entirely from broken frames and discarded gallery labels—turning the idea of the “finished artwork” on its head. 

Each piece challenges ideas of value, completion, and permanence.

Central to “The Reverse” is the exploration of memory, time, and perception. Several artists have used worn objects, faded textiles, and reversed texts to represent the way we recall the past—not as a straight line, but as fragments and rewinds. 

One standout installation plays audio recordings of personal stories backward, creating a haunting, dreamlike effect.

In this exhibition, the viewer becomes part of the art. Mirrors placed at unexpected angles capture your reflection in someone else’s narrative. Footsteps echo across sound-sensitive floors that trigger projected images. You don’t just see the art—you activate it. 

In this reversed world, your presence is no longer passive.

A powerful element of “The Reverse” is how it reinterprets traditional Southeast Asian motifs. Thai textiles are displayed inside out, Burmese lacquerware is cracked and filled with wax, and old photographs from Laos are layered with digital animation. 

These works invite conversations on how history is preserved, distorted, or re-authored.

The exhibition does not shy away from making its audience uncomfortable. One dimly lit room features a video projected onto a wall of cracked glass, forcing viewers to see the art in fragments. 

Another features a shrine-like installation made from failed art school projects. These spaces remind us that reversing the familiar can provoke both unease and discovery.

Curated by a team of Thai and international artists, “The Reverse” rethinks curatorship itself. Labels are written backward or placed where viewers must crouch or turn to read. 

The intent is not to confuse, but to slow down the viewing process, encouraging mindfulness and engagement. It’s a reminder that art is not always linear or easy to digest.

Visitors leave the gallery deep in thought—many stopping to discuss what they felt, not just what they saw. Conversations often center around what we overlook, what we assume, and how we assign meaning. B

y reversing the direction of how we experience art, the exhibition succeeds in reversing internal perspectives too.

La Luna Gallery’s “The Reverse” invites each person to reflect not only on art but on the everyday patterns of seeing and believing. 

What happens when we step back instead of forward? What hidden meanings emerge when we look behind rather than ahead? These questions linger long after the visit ends.

In a city rich with temples and tradition, “The Reverse” stands out as a bold, modern statement. It’s not merely an art show—it’s a provocation, a meditation, and a mirror. 

La Luna Gallery has once again proven itself a space where boundaries are pushed and perspectives are expanded. Sometimes, by turning around, we see more clearly.