The Other Side of the Mountain

Could there be other ways of understanding the world? That question is at the heart of Amos Rex's autumn exhibition The Other Side of the Mountain—Notes from African and Afro-Nordic Perspectives, presenting 11 contemporary artists from the African continent and the Afro-Nordic diaspora. With The Other Side of the Mountain, Amos Rex advances its long-term commitment to bringing world-class contemporary art to Nordic audiences and creating encounters between international artistic practices and Nordic perspectives. 

The exhibition's title draws inspiration from a story in Minna Salami's book Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone, in which two explorers visit the same mountain but return with completely different accounts of what they have seen. The story suggests that reality itself appears diminished when only certain perspectives are sustained and believed, and of what can become visible when other ways of understanding the world are allowed to take part. 

The exhibition's artists explore urban environments and how structures within different landscapes bring people closer together or set them apart. Through African and Afro-Nordic perspectives, questions of memory, migration, identity, and movement are raised, with the urban landscape as a recurring stage. Through varying forms of expression—sound and light, glass and sand, textiles and scents—the artists give these themes a multifaceted and sensory expression. 

"As curators, we were interested in the artists' multifaceted narratives, which are constantly reshaped as they move and work across different places. Each of the works in the exhibition returns, in its own way, to different built spaces and landscapes, and reflects on how these affect people. The urban environment in particular—the city with its many layers—recurs in many different forms throughout the exhibition. The works themselves are also layered on and within one another, creating new paths and worlds in the exhibition space in an organic and surprising way, like an ever-growing city," say curators Katariina Timonen and Marcia Harvey Isaksson. 

About the artists
Among the artists are Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, who in 2023 became the first artist from the African continent to top ArtReview’s Power 100, the annual ranking of the most influential figures in international contemporary art; Norwegian-Congolese artist Sandra Mujinga, who presented her solo exhibition Skin to Skin at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 2025; and South African artist Igshaan Adams, whose work has been exhibited internationally at several major museums and biennials.  

The exhibition features five artists working in the Nordic region, two of whom are based in Finland. For most of the participating artists, this is their first time exhibiting in Finland.  

Artists in the exhibition
Igshaan Adams, Akinbode Akinbiyi, Loulou Cherinet, Adji Dieye, Jeannette Ehlers, Lungiswa Gqunta, Liisa-Irmelen Liwata, Ibrahim Mahama, Sandra Mujinga, Emeka Ogboh and Karl Ohiri

With The Other Side of the Mountain, Amos Rex brings together artists from Africa and the Afro-Nordic diaspora, connecting Helsinki with the international art world and creating meaningful encounters between artists and audiences. 

Amos Rex presents the exhibition in collaboration with Southnord, an artist-led platform focused on Afro-Nordic contemporary art. Through African and Afro-Nordic experiences, the exhibition offers new ways of understanding today’s global issues and our shared reality. The exhibition is part of Southnord Artfest 2026, an ambitious programme of events taking place across several other art institutions in Helsinki.  

The Other Side of the Mountain is curated by Katariina Timonen (Amos Rex) and Marcia Harvey Isaksson (Southnord).

More information about Southnord Artfest 2026 is available on Southnord's website: southnord.com/artfest-2026