My Life in the Metaverse

Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi
November 2022 – January 2023
Curated by Dr. Omar Kholeif in-dialogue with artist Heather Phillipson

“A must see” – Artforum

“One of the culture calendar’s highlights” – Gulf News

“A testament to the multi-disciplinary art exhibition” – The National

“Reveals a kind of art that helps [audiences] dissect what the metaverse means” – WIRED

My Life in the Metaverse is the first visual arts exhibition in the UAE to explore the historical connections, legacies, and influences of Web3 technologies on art today.

In My Life in the Metaverse, audiences were invited to immerse themselves into the life and mind of a semi-fictional character called Dr. O. The exhibition, which explores the borders of fact and fiction, narrates the metaverse through the story of Dr. O—a mythical character who finds their life subsumed into the bizarre contours of the so-called “metaverse.”

Presenting a curated world from Dr. O's desktop, My Life in the Metaverse, reveals the inner workings of this ecosphere, elucidating the not-so-fictional potential of a universe, where ideas, images, opinions, and emotions are progressively shaped by the artifacts found in the seemingly intangible digital sphere. The exhibition offers viewers a gateway and a snapshot into all things ‘meta’ from the rise of Web3, i.e., NFTs, through to renewable energy, cryptocurrency, and the aesthetics of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Narrated collectively by a group of pioneering international artists, many of whom are presenting new artwork in Abu Dhabi, My Life in the Metaverse offers both a historical and contemporary dive into the shape of our collective future.

Participating artists: Sophia Al Maria, Cory Arcangel, Cream Projects, Simon Denny, Celia Hempton, Paul Heyer, Haroon Mirza, Farhad Moshiri, Trevor Paglen, Nam June Paik, Heather Phillipson, and Andy Warhol.

Exhibition-Related Talks Programme:

Expanding the Metaverse Part 1
Thursday, 16 November 2022 | 16:00-16:45
Speakers: Kate Crawford (AI Specialist), and Trevor Paglen (Artist) in conversation with Dr. Omar Kholeif (Curator)

Expanding the Metaverse Part 2
Thursday, 17 November 2022 | 17:00-17:45
Speakers: Cream Projects: Ana Nicolaescu and Sebastian Tiew (Artists), Simon Denny (Artist), Paul Heyer (Artist) and moderated by Dr. Omar Kholeif (Curator)