Watching the Unseen – The Showcase of South Korean Moving Image

Program 4: Themes in Contemporary Korea — Capitalism and Labor

Country of production

South Korea

Running time

The three-day program devoted to video and art film from South Korea was prepared in cooperation with the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul (MMCA). Divided into six chapters, the program opens with a presentation of rarely shown works of early Korean video art from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including works by Hyunki Park and Soungui Kim. Most of the program is devoted to the younger generation of Korean artists. They use new technologies and popular culture, boldly experiment with AI, and at the same time draw heavily on animism and folklore, as well as being inspired by activist movements. Selected films reflect dramatic historical events, the political turbulence of recent years, and a belief in the therapeutic, healing power of art.

Program 4: Themes in Contemporary Korea — Capitalism and Labor

This is a cinematic retrospective of the younger generation artist, CHA Jeamin, who focuses on aspects of life that are erased by the capitalist machine: physical labor, illness, care—thus inviting us to see what is visible but invisible.

Program:

CHA Jeamin, Chroma-key and Labyrinth (2013), 15’15”, MMCA collection

CHA Jeamin, Nameless Syndrome (2022), 24’, MMCA collection

CHA Jeamin, Photosynthesizing Dead in Warehouse (2024), 30’, courtesy of the artist

Lecture: CHA Jeamin

Moderator: Sebastian Cichocki

The program "Watching the Unseen – The Showcase of South Korean Moving Image" was developed in dialogue between MMCA curator Soojung YI in Seoul and MSN curator Sebastian Cichocki. It heralds a program exchange between MMCA and MSN, in cooperation with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, in the coming years.